When a Tornado Meets a Volcano
by anzafire
Summary: His teeth were glistening and perfect; he seemed patient and gentle. His hand across her face, however, was anything but. Emma/Carl, abuse. Eventual Will/Emma
1. Part I

He had really nice teeth. Of course, who would go to a dentist that didn't? But really, they were perfectly straight (she really likes straight, even rows) and practically glistened when they weren't covered with the mask he wore to protect himself and his patient from germs — she really liked that, too. He always wore gloves, pulled equipment from freshly sanitized packages and when he told her to open wide, it made her blush and think inappropriately in a way she didn't typically think about men.

He'd asked her out and she said yes, but she knew that while he was a nice guy, exceptionally hygienic and patient towards her personal needs, he was a rebound.

She felt bad going into this with that knowledge, but she really needed a good distraction. Moping around her apartment, looking at Will's tokens of apologies for weeks on end was only furthering her need to get over him.

Realistically, Emma wasn't sure she'd ever find someone who would be willing to forever deal with her issues. Things would likely go great for the first year or two, but crumble shortly after. She was already a statistic — one in three adults suffer from an anxiety disorder — and she didn't want to be one in two that wind up divorced.

Carl was picking her up in an hour and she had three options. She could enjoy the evening, melancholy, then announce that their relationship was going nowhere at the end. She could call him up, feign illness and hope to avoid him for a few days. Or, she could go out with him as planned, say nothing, act the like the proper lady she'd been raised to and let him peck her on the cheek while bidding him goodnight.

As sixty minutes ticked by and the dentist showed up at her doorstep with a bouquet of roses and a gleaming grin, she knew that sucking it up was her only choice.

She laughed at his jokes, even when they weren't funny — which was all the time — and she didn't tell him he was wrong when he mentioned that the Indians had scored 7-6 in the bottom of the ninth, giving them a leg up in their current series — it was actually 7-7 and they played a few extra innings before they triumphed; she doesn't care about baseball, but she watches the local news. She even let him pay for dinner, although she always offered to at least pay her half, feeling guilty for spending the money of a man she'd never love.

He drove her home in his fancy sports car, the silence growing awkward as they approached her street. He walked her to the porch, and rather than the friendly, chaste, kiss to the cheek she was expecting, Carl planted one firmly on her lips.

Her eyes widened and she gasped as she pulled back, clearly startled.

"Sorry, babe. It's just...I mean, it's been over a month here...and..." She couldn't collect her thoughts to form a coherent statement and barely heard him when he asked, "Maybe we could freshen up a little, I've got an extra toothbrush or two lying around in my car, I wouldn't mind taking care of that if you want to—"

Turning her key in the lock, she didn't reply verbally to say 'no' like she would have intended, and couldn't seem to find words to ask him to leave when he stepped into her condo.

She unclipped her shoes and hoped he'd take the hint to do the same, and as he watched her, she noticed he didn't. It almost seemed his refusal was to spite her, but she figured that most normal people wouldn't find a need to take their shoes off upon entering a home.

Her anxiety was at an all-time high. She had tried spending time with Ken in her condo, and his presence had nerved her, but not like this. She knew that Ken wouldn't push his luck if he wanted to stay hers. Carl was a bit more confident in his manhood. Emma was the one who wouldn't push her luck to stay his.

"Relax, babe, it's your own house," Carl directed her to sit, making her feel inferior in her own abode. "Gotta' let lose, tootse." His hand found her shoulder, a finger traced a line down to her elbow and back up, making her cringe and shudder. "Seriously, what's wrong? Do you want to speed things up or—?"

"S-slow them down, actually." She surprised herself by speaking and her eyes fluttered wide when she realized what she said and how it sounded. "Um..." Her hands came together in her lap as she tried to recover.

"Do you want something to drink?" He asked, standing, obviously hoping a little alcohol would loosen her up.

Emma shook her head, "Carl, I...This has been a great evening, but I'm just...I can't...Not yet." Although what she wanted to say was, not _ever_. She wasn't sure she would ever truly be ready for an intimate relationship with a man, any man.

He opened his mouth to speak but shook his head, "Alright, babe. I'll leave you be, then. Call me before you go to bed. Maybe we can try this again next time."

She really didn't want there to be a next time, not after that uncomfortable encounter; but she didn't want to be the shut-in recluse who lived a lonely existence either. "I, yeah...I'll call. S-see you," She followed him to the door, spirit throughly wounded as he pressed an additional kiss to her forehead.

Once his car was down the street, likely running through the stop sign in front of the elementary school as he always did, Emma allowed herself to collapse on the couch and tears to run down her face. Any normal person in any normal relationship could handle that, no matter how much they didn't like the person they were with. The kids she spoke to in her office would put their lips on just about anybody.

It was no wonder he was starting to push her, she hadn't so much showed the slightest interest in physical intimacy; not a flirty smile or an "accidental" brush against him. A month into a relationship and he'd initiated their first kiss? Most couples in the twenty-first century experienced that on a first date.

But Emma was tired of being alone. Breaking up with Carl would put her back into the same funk of walking past Will's office, in hopes he'd catch sight of her hair and call her in, of staring at his number in her contact list on her cellphone, in hopes that he'd call, or of crying herself to sleep at night, in hopes he'd show up at her door and hold her close. Instead, she was crying to herself because she was in a relationship with a man she didn't love. But likely, the only man she'd ever get.

Like he requested, she called him before going to bed. "Hey, babe. Feelin' alright?" He asked smugly, but Emma felt there must have been some sincerity laced in his voice.

"Um, yeah...I'm okay," She convinced herself while answering him, "Um, look, I'm really sorry, I just...I freak out and...I know it's a totally unattractive quality, but, um—"

"Sweets," It bothered Emma that Carl never called by her name, almost as if he were afraid of messing it up with another woman he'd fraternized with in the past; although she supposed anything was better than 'M&M.' "I know you've got needs and all that, but let's try and work through them alright? I mean, this is the kind of stuff that people in relationships do, right?"

"Y-yeah," Emma agreed, closing her eyes, "I just...It, um...This is sort of new, for me."

She did not want to tell him she was a virgin. Will was a hundred times the man Carl would ever be, and even he couldn't handle the news.

"Listen, I've got two tickets to the Indians game tomorrow night. I was going to take one of the guys, but you really seemed to know what you were talking about at dinner, so I'm going to take you instead."

Knowing he was hoping more than the Indians would score a home run, Emma made an attempt to refuse as politely as possible, "Oh, I-I don't really know too much about baseball...and...it's outside and...I-I don't..."

"Come on, it'll be fun. I'll pick you up at four-thirty. Call me at lunch tomorrow."

"Um...okay."

"Bye, babe. Sweet dreams."

He hung up before Emma could reply and she bit her lip to keep from crying all over again as she bundled the covers around her thin frame.

Just as she was lightly dozing, her cellphone vibrated on the nightstand near her ear, earning a groan followed by slight relief upon realization it was only a text message, rather than Carl calling her again.

Emma's breath caught in her throat when she looked at the name and debated whether or not she should open it. Will had sent her some very sweet, very innocent text messages that she hadn't bothered to respond to over the past few weeks. They had made her flush and giggle, but she would promptly remember who they were from and hide the disappointment behind thoughts of Carl; although they often left her wondering why he wouldn't send such sweet messages.

Against her better judgement she did, and in plain, black letters, the message read, "Sorry for bothering you — give me a call if you want to or can."

Thankful he was respecting her enough to let her call him, rather than taking the chance of risking an awkward encounter with Carl or her bad side, she did.

"Hey," He said after the second ring. She imagined he was sitting on his phone and trying not to jump in excitement as she actually called.

"Hey," Emma sighed into the phone, "What...What's going on?"

"Tomorrow night is the faculty dinner. You never replied to the inbox...I was, well, Figgins was wondering if you were planning on coming."

"Oh my gosh," She sat up and walked to the kitchen, eyeing the calendar on the refrigerator, "I totally forgot about that. What, um, what time does it start?"

"Five, technically, but I don't think food's actually going to be served until six."

Emma drummed her fingers on the countertop. She'd made Carl feel terrible one night, would a second break the fantasy relationship she'd achieved?

"I really should pass," Her voice was quiet and sad, and she knew Will would question it.

She heard him shuffle the phone to his other ear as he likely stood to devote more attention to her, "Em? Everything alright?"

"I just, I had plans. And I don't know that canceling them would be a good idea."

He knew what she meant by plans, "You can bring Carl. Most of the faculty members with significant others bring them." Emma was completely silent at this announcement, "Em?" Will piped after a minute of dead air, "You still there?"

"Y-yeah," She choked, flustered. She was not prepared for Will to meet Carl. She wasn't sure if she ever would be, "I...I'll have to call him. I'll let you know."

"Sounds good. Have a nice night, Em."

He hung up before she could return the sentiment; leaving her nervous to her core over what to do in her predicament.

After fifteen minutes of rehearsing what she would say and beating herself up for being so cowardly — normal couples wouldn't have to worry about a change in plans destroying all they had — Emma closed her eyes and hit the talk button.

"Miss me, babe?" Carl's cocky tone crackled on the receiver.

"Hey, um, actually, I forgot that I have a faculty dinner I have to go to tomorrow night," Emma stumbled over her words, assuming saying 'have to' rather than 'would like to' could inspire him to not feel anger at her revelation.

"Oh. Well, I don't want you to get in trouble at work." Thankful that he seemed understanding, she prayed he wouldn't ask to come along.

"Thanks for understanding," She breathed, "I'll, um, I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Call me when it's over, I'll come over."

Cringing, Emma agreed to do so and finally slid back into bed, sighing deeply into the blankets.

* * *

"Sorry, I'm not on much of a break, I've got five hundred seniors who want their transcripts sent out and it's getting quite hectic."

"Hm. What are you going to be wearing tonight?"

"Um," Emma put the phone between her ear and shoulder while trying to shuffle a pile of papers into some semblance of order, "I don't know, but I've got three students looking at me, I really need to go," She emphasized to avoid the subject, the teens in front of her waiting impatiently.

"Can you call back when they leave?"

She flinched, not trying to start something at work, "If I'm not too busy."

"Alright, babe. Call me." She hung up before Carl could continue talking and had to resist the urge to slam the phone back on the hook, "Alright, what can I do for you kids?"

The evening arrived and she'd found a sensible dress to wear to the hall where dinner would take place. She still hadn't called Carl back, but she hoped he'd be sympathetic that this was a very stressful day for her. Her only goals for the evening were to socialize with the few faculty members she actually spoke to, with the exception of Will, poke around at her food so it looked like she was eating the likely wilted salad prepared by teenagers who knew nothing of proper sanitation patterns, and escape before the music started and people started dancing.

Unfortunately, none of these were options as Will was stepping out of his blue beater at the same time she stepped out of her Volvo. He smiled and took a few steps towards her, waiting for Emma to make the first real move as to decide whether or not he should spend much time with her.

"Hi," She said under her breath when they met at the door.

"Hey, where's—"

"He's not coming," Emma cut him off before Will could even say Carl's name, "Um...should we go in?"

He nodded and opened the door for her, taking her sweet smile in before remembering to breathe and follow her footsteps.

"Miss Pillsbury," Figgins stood before her with a smirk, "I wasn't sure you'd make it. Glad to have you."

She flushed and bit her lip, still recalling their last conversation where she asked him how he could even call himself a principal. Of course, she'd apologized since then, but she was still feeling miles of guilt.

"Glad to be here," Emma responded politely and moved past him to find a table with the few individuals on staff who wouldn't be put off when she pulled a plastic fork out of her purse to use.

Will continued to follow her and as she discovered an empty place to sit at an empty table near a corner, he pulled her chair out and hurriedly took a seat next to her, "Em, can I tell you something? I promise it's not going to upset you like I did...you know, a few weeks ago."

She swallowed but nodded, meeting his eyes as he continued, "Emma, I was out of line. Really. I mean, obviously, you know how I feel about you, but it was not okay for me to force myself on you like that. You never did anything to compromise my relationship with Terri, even though you could have. I shouldn't have done something to compromise your relationship with Carl. I'm really sorry."

Emma pressed her lips together and tilted her head a little, "Thank you. For the apology. You're right, it was out of line, but I'm glad you could see that."

A look of relief spread across his face, "There's one more thing...Emma, obviously my feelings for you are stronger than this, but...can we please still be friends? I meant what I said to you before regionals. I really miss you."

Sighing she closed her eyes and nodded, "I miss you, too." Realizing she said it out loud, her lashes fluttered and cheeks reddened.

"So it's okay for me to sit with you?"

"I suppose," She cleared her throat, "Heard you got to keep Glee for another year." Will's smile reached his eyes. "How, um, how did that come about?"

"Sue, remarkably," He said while resting an elbow on the table to help make the mood a bit more casual. "She said that the kids are talented and she would miss being able to tease me endlessly.

Emma giggled and her laugh was like a cheesy chorus of angels in his ears, "Well, I'm so happy for you. You really deserve it. Your kids really deserve it."

Their conversation carried on relatively smoothly for the next hour or so until food was served and they ate in comfortable silence amid talks of fellow faculty members who had joined them at the table.

Two glasses of wine durning the meal had loosened her considerably and Emma found herself giggling at nearly everything Will said. Being a little more than tipsy himself, he found his flirty demeanor creeping into their discussion.

A few faculty members and their spouses — including Figgins and his wife — had already hit the dance floor as a fast-paced jazz song flooded the room while desert was being cleared. "Care to dance?" Will asked, standing and taking Emma's hand.

Thinking with the alcohol, the guidance counselor agreed and stepped to the tile with his arm around her waist and Will started to swing them gracefully, dipping Emma and making her laugh.

A ballad bursted through the speakers and Emma pulled herself closer to Will, her hand on his upper back while the other was clasped in his, very reminiscent of their _Hello_ disaster in his apartment. This time, however, she drew even snugger into his hold and rested her face on his chest while her eyes closed contently. Will smiled and placed his chin on top of her head, relishing the closeness.

After nearly forty minutes of nonstop dancing, Emma excused herself to the restroom and met her own face in the mirror. While she could blame it solely on the wine, she knew that she had intentionally danced with Will.

God, it felt so good; so real.

She paused, however, as an image of a tan, black haired man popped into her mind's eye and she bit her lip guiltily. He didn't deserve this. No matter how pushy he could be, he did not deserve the emotional affair she would be having with him for the course of their relationship — no matter how long it ran or didn't.

Screwing her face up to something serious, Emma relieved herself of the intoxicating liquid she'd consumed and met Will with soft, yet stern eyes as he had been sitting in a plush chair near the door, "Emma—"

"Will," She said quietly, rocking in her shoes, "I-I have to go. I can't...This isn't..."

"I know, I know, I'm sorry. We weren't thinking and I'm feeling guilty all over again...let me walk you to your car?"

Emma sighed in relief that he felt what she had, "Thank you, yes, um...Let me just get my bag."

They walked to the car as slowly as possible, trying to reign in what would likely be their last moments together before August. Trying to avoid this scenario, Will asked, "Emma, I was wondering if I could still see you a few times this summer? I know it may not be...typical, to be friends with a guy while you're dating another, but if it's alright with Carl, I'd still like to...hang out with you, every once in awhile."

She fiddled with her keys, "I...I'd like that, yeah. We'll think of something. Goodnight, Will."

He smiled his farewell and watched sadly as she sped from the parking lot.

Carl was leaning against his car when she pulled into the driveway and it took all of her strength not to gasp in alarm when he moved to open her door. Emma felt she should have been feeling flattered, not weirded out that he was waiting for her. She hadn't called him like she said she would, how long had he been waiting?

"Hey, babe. Have a good time?" She nodded a response while she turned off her lights and took a step onto the concrete and he followed her to the stairs, inviting himself in once more, "So?" He questioned, waiting for her to say something.

Unsure of what he was expecting, Emma removed her phone from her purse and placed it in it's proper place in her closet, along with her shoes, "Um, have a seat," She advised, feeling strange at giving Carl a direction for once while she rested her phone on the coffee table. "I'll be back in a minute."

Stepping into her bedroom, she had no reason to need a minute to herself other than to consider what on earth she could possibly say to him.

Catching her breath and willing her pounding heart to find a regular rhythm, Emma looked at herself in the mirror. Her face was red with an emotion she couldn't identify and her hair was lightly tussled from nearly an hour of dancing with Will. Running a brush through her gingery curls, she took a few more calming gulps of air and returned to the living room, where Carl was flipping through a photo album she'd been looking at the night before, as if he lived in her condo and her property was his to dig through.

She cleared her throat, more to declare her annoyance than announce her presence. "Hey, babe. Have a seat." Feeling like she shouldn't need an invitation to sit in her own home, Emma found herself six or so inches away from him, but he turned to erase the space. "You never answered my question. How was your event?"

"Nice," Emma responded, adjusting her dress to come as far down to her knees as the material would stretch.

Noticing this, a smirk crept on Carl's face and his hand wandered to sit on her knee she attempted to cover. "No need to hide your stunning legs from me, sweets." He dipped his head a little closer to hers and she felt the tips of his hair graze her cheek while his lips met her neck, causing her to gasp and for him to take that as a positive motion. His fingers grazed up her leg and rested a bit beneath the purple material of her dress, rubbing slowly.

Not knowing what to say, as no man had ever made a move like that without her initiation or invitation, Emma closed her eyes, another sign he read as an encouragement to keep going.

Keeping her lids shut, Emma moved her hand to cover his own beneath the hem of her dress and he tangled their fingers together and moved his mouth to hers, causing her to stiffen and open her eyes.

"C-Carl," She muttered against him, but the parting of her her lips was used as space for his tongue to meet hers.

At this, she could keep her cool no longer and she shifted away, using her arms to back up to the edge of the couch.

"Emmie, what's the matter?" He asked as innocently as he could.

"J-just moving a l-little fast," She made an excuse.

Carl raised a brow and dipped back towards her, only not moving in to kiss her this time. Instead he...sniffed her?

"Hm. I thought so. You smell like cologne. And it isn't mine."

Emma's world was spinning and she felt the onset of an anxiety attack. Standing and ignoring Carl's angry, curious glare, she moved quickly to her purse before the effects completely overwhelmed her.

Walking with urgency, she swallowed a pill with a large glass of water from the kitchen before placing her hands on the edge of the counter to calm her system.

"I didn't want to freak you out," Carl entered the room and rubbed her shoulders in an attempt to be comforting, "But I would like an explanation."

"Th-the dinner...there was...dancing. I was just...dancing with a friend."

"Just a friend?" Carl's hands became a bit firmer, "And who is he?"

"Sp-spanish teacher."

"His name?"

"Will."

Carl was silent as he absorbed the new information. "How long have you known him?"

Emma knew he was staring at her face in the window's reflection but couldn't bring herself to meet his. "Since I started working at McKinley, he showed me around...He's always been a friend."

"Has he ever been anything more than a friend?"

"He was married," Emma added, feeling that may relieve the tension a bit.

However, it backfired as Carl's grip on her shoulders seemed to intensify, "_Was_ married?"

"Carl, it's really not a big deal. I danced with him. It's not like..."

"It's not like _what_?"

Emma turned to actually meet him in the eye but his hands stayed firm on her upper arms as to prevent her from moving, "Look, nothing happened between us tonight. Nothing will ever happen between us in the future. It's over, can we please drop it?"

Carl was a bit taken aback at the confidence his girlfriend was showing. Feeling defensive, he rolled on with the argument, "We'll drop it when I say it's over. This is far from over. I want to know more about your previous relationship with him. Just because something didn't happen tonight doesn't mean something never did."

Emma shook her head, insisting on keeping anything that happened with her and Will far away from Carl, "It's nothing. We had a very, very brief...relationship and it didn't work out. You have nothing—"

"I don't want you near him."

"Ex-excuse me?" Carl dropped her arms and moved to the living room, where her phone had been abandoned on the wood surface in front of the solid printed couch. "What are you doing?"

"I said that I didn't want you near him. I also mean I don't want you talking to him, making plans to see him...You're with me. Not Will."

She felt tears pulling at her eyes as she tried to explain, "Carl, he's just a friend! He respects the fact that I'm in a relationship! He's not going to try and woo me or...anything! Stop, please?"

His thumb was over the delete button when his dark, angry eyes met hers, "You don't tell me what to do, Emma." She nearly stopped breathing when his low tone continued, "You will not speak to Will. You will not go to Will. You will not _think_ about Will. Do you understand?"

"I don't! I don't understand, Carl! I've never given you reason to doubt me!"

"Until you came home smelling like another guy and refused to let me touch you!"

She crossed her arms over her chest protectively, "I did let you touch me!"

"But you didn't want me to. You probably wanted Will to be the one kissing you, rubbing your legs—"

The tears fell slowly, "Please, I just...I can't...Please?"

His thumb hit the button, erasing Will's name from her phone and he tossed it back to the table, letting the plastic hit the wood hard. Without another thought on the matter, he sat back down and pulled Emma's arm until she sat in his lap and wrapped his arms around her, "I wish I hadn't had to do that. I don't want to upset you." His hands crept up and down her sides, making her twitch with dread.

"Can we call it a night?"

"Only if you'll let me touch you. I want to know that I'm the only one who matters to you. You need to prove it."

She shivered and maneuvered so their legs touched as she sat next to him, "G-go ahead."

He put one hand on her face and she tried to keep from turning into it, but his force made it happen naturally; his other hand rested on her hip as his mouth met hers again.

Emma responded this time, not wanting to make him mad again, fearing the reaction, fearing him leaving and never returning. Fearing being alone.

Somehow Carl pulled her into his lap again, positioning her to straddle him, much to her displeasure as she attempted to keep her dress from riding up while their mouths stayed locked. His hand met her bare flesh above her knee, swirling close to her thigh before she pulled away in a dramatic gasp for air.

"See?" Carl touched her bangs in a way that Will had on multiple occasions, "It's not too much, is it?"

She shook her head, "I...I..."

Carl shuffled them around and stood, "I've got to get going, early appointments in the morning. I'll stop by around lunch, 'kay, babe?"

Emma nodded and followed him to the door, where he turned and slid his hand up the back of her neck and grabbed a fistful of hair while meeting her lips in one last, long kiss before shutting the door.

She slumped back against a wall to collect her thoughts before quickly rushing to the bathroom and turning the water as hot as it would go.

Without delay, Emma tore off her dress, letting it fall uncharacteristically to the tile and didn't line up her earrings in their box before jumping into the steaming water. She felt it scald her sensitive flesh but she didn't care. All she wanted was the feeling of his hands off her skin. Scrubbing hard at her legs where he'd touched her uncomfortably, Emma felt salty tears meet her already wet face, gliding down until they splattered against the floor.

After a half hour of scrubbing meticulously as her anxiety disorder was typically known for, Emma stepped into the cool of the room and wrapped a towel around her skin, which had turned redder than her hair.

Staring at herself for the third time that evening, Emma choked, thinking of Will, thinking of Carl, and thinking of her pathetic excuse for a life that had become burdened with such things.

"Oh, god," She cried softly to herself, sniffling while pulling on a pair of pajamas.

Carl was her last chance at not being alone. She knew this. She'd just have to own up to it and let him do what he pleased to hold onto him.

Just as she was prepared to crawl into bed for a night filled with terrors in her sleep, her phone vibrated from the nightstand, as it had twenty-four hours previously.

The message read 'unknown number' and her heart leapt as she would now be able to reach Will again.

Clicking the text open, she smiled for the first time since she left him, "_Thank you - for everything. Have a good night_."

Saving the number under an unsuspicious name, _Andrea_, she had a cousin Andrea, after all, Emma fell asleep with the mobile device tucked beneath her pillow with one arm curled under it, as if it were curled around Will himself.

* * *

_For LizisaGleek; thank you for your enthusiasm, it always makes my day._

Encouragement from Twitter and other sources: beadedbarley, britthegleek, ckshih, kentuckybelle, iamplayingme, fancynewwhatever, agt_starbuck42, jaymafans, radames125470, iheartbillyb, and permanent rose - thank you for giving me the motivation and backup to write this unique piece (hopefully I didn't miss anybody).

A different, darker perspective on Carl and Emma's relationship. (_Because we all want Carl to be a total douche, deep down._)

Update will be next week.

Thank you for reading — feedback on this particular piece (positive or negative) would be most appreciated.


	2. Part II

June was literally swept away by strong winds in a high pressure system that had crossed the Canadian boarder, bringing along with it a muggy, stormy July which was mocking and paralleling Emma Pillsbury's life.

Things with Carl hadn't improved, but he hadn't scared her as much as he had the night he deleted Will's number from her phone. Rationalizing his behavior as her own fault for being too much of a coward to make a move and too good of friends with a man she was previously in a relationship with, Emma hadn't expected to see his temper flare up again.

He was still pushing her, but at this point, edging on three months into a relationship, most adults in their thirties would have turned it into something much more intimate than what they had.

She didn't look forward to dates with Carl, which were coming up on five nights a week. They always ended back at her apartment, with her pressed deep into the couch cushions with him on top of her, stroking up her blouses and fondling dangerously close to her panty-line up her skirt. To make it through these dreadful sessions, Emma convinced herself that it would get better; that at some point, she would be used to his caresses and enjoy them, rather than want to burn straight through her skin afterwords.

She was creating a fantasy in her head to keep the relationship alive; one in which Carl wasn't as possessive as he had become, that he didn't try to show her off to friends and coworkers, that he didn't grip her arm tightly when she refused to do or tell him something.

It was a little frightening, the way his fingers would curl above her elbow firmly, and somewhere inside her, Emma knew it was a bit more intense than she would have liked, but as with all the aspects of their relationship that bothered her, she was blaming herself and her inability to foster physical romance or initiate intimacy with the man she claimed to be her significant other. He had every right to say what he wanted from her, a relationship took both parts to work.

She was growing tired being dragged from event to event with him laughing with colleges and introducing her as his "beautiful girlfriend, Emma," rather than, "Emma, my beautiful girlfriend." Somehow, the way he said it made her wonder if it was her physique he was attracted to and wanted to show off, rather than her personality. Not that she could blame him, her personality was uptight and nervous, while her frame was thin and her fiery hair was curled to perfection each time they went out.

When she thought of how tight of a leash he seemed to have on her, Emma was a bit drawn back. She'd much prefer to be called by her name, rather than one of the token, "babe, sweet, toots," that he so often referred to her by. He asked her to call him at least three times a day, and when she missed one, he was always sure to question just what she was doing at that time.

Then there was Will, whom Carl did not know still texted her once or twice a week, just to ask how things were going and if she'd like to do something.

Emma always feigned business, still slightly afraid of how Carl would react if he found out she had met Will for lunch or a light afternoon snack.

It was starting to feel a bit depressing that she hadn't seen him since the second week of June, and she knew that the coming second week of July would be one filled with high class, charades of dates and her back to the wall when they arrived home as Carl tried to unhook the buttons on the backs of her dresses.

She'd rather be sitting in a coffee shop with Will, talking about nothing and hopefully convincing him to sing her something soft.

With this thought in mind, she ran the date through her head, realizing it was a thursday, and she and Carl never went out on the fourth day of the work week, as he had one night where he worked until ten as a part of his practice's emergency dental services.

Feeling this would be the perfect opportunity to sneak away from her crumbling romance for a few hours, Emma lifted her cellphone from it's place on the charger and dialed 'Andrea.'

"Hey, Emma." Will's voice was soothing, and it was amazing to hear a man say her name that wasn't Carl.

"Hi. Doing anything exciting today?"

"Oh, you know," She heard the sound of plates being stacked as he put dishes away, "Nah, I can't even fake it. I'm not doing anything, why?"

Emma walked to the window, where the winds seemed to be picking up. "I was thinking we could...go out. Do something."

Thankful he hadn't asked why she wasn't going to be spending the day with Carl, Will responded earnestly, "Yeah, that'd be great, Em. What did you have in mind?"

"Um...How about a coffee place?"

Knowing it was somewhere that two teachers could sit and the scenario wouldn't be awkward, Will agreed, "Sounds perfect. Starbucks on Main? See you in a half hour?"

"Alright." Emma's heart swelled as he rushed a goodbye to likely get changed.

She glanced at her own ensemble, a blue, flowing sundress and matching jewelry...with a short-sleeved cardigan and wedged heels, she'd be dressed enough to step out in public, but not suited up for a date.

Emma parallel parked along Main Street, where Will was stepping out of his car and walking to greet her. Resisting the urge to wrap her arms around his neck in a happy greeting, she waved shyly and let him hold the door for her as they entered the shop.

Once they each had some form of caffeine in their hands, they found a deserted table near the back and Emma started the conversation off. "How's your summer going?"

He nodded, eyes meeting hers with a smirk, "Surprisingly, it's the best I've had in years. No one's home to nag at me to do things all day. I like getting things done on my own timeframe, rather than someone else's."

Emma took a sip and agreed, "Summer is nice when it's your own agenda."

"How are things, you know, with Carl?"

She sighed, she'd been praying he wouldn't ask, "Oh, it's, um...pretty good. We go out a lot. Which is kind of why I said it's nice when it's just yourself...Can stay in whenever you want but, you know, it's nice not being cooped up every day, I suppose."

Will drank from his cardboard cup before continuing, "I've been able to reconnect with a lot of my own friends...the past few years have been mostly Terri's friends and family, she wasn't a huge fan of mine, imagine that." Emma stifled a giggle while he carried on the thought, "Some of my college friends are coming to stay for a guy's weekend in a few weeks, I'm going to visit some of my cousins in Indiana. You going anywhere?"

Emma shook her head, eyes falling to a crumb on the table, which Will noticed and brushed away with the back of his hand, receiving a gentle smile in thanks. "I want to go visit my parents. I haven't seen them since last summer."

"So why don't you?"

"Carl's, um, he's not interested." She licked her lips and avoided his eyes again.

"You don't want to go without him?"

In truth, he didn't want her to go at all. Something about 'being in too new of a relationship to be apart for a week.' And as someone who was unfamiliar with relationship time tables, Emma agreed to staying home for the summer and keeping her fingers crossed that Thanksgiving or Christmas would have better timing.

Taking a gulp of her beverage, Emma didn't answer but changed the subject, "Come up with anything for Glee yet?"

That got him going and he rambled on with her laughing or agreeing with his song choices and production ideas. Their discussion took an easier turn, and before they knew it, both their drinks were gone and they'd been sitting for what was going on two and a half hours.

The last ten minutes had Emma reflecting on how being with Carl was never as easy as being with Will, how her drifting off like she was would lead to a "hey, babe," or a grasp of her arm, which she didn't care for. Although, he hadn't been the first man to grab her in such a way.

"Will?" Her voice was quiet and he promptly stopped his analysis of a summer blockbuster which apparently hadn't lived up to the hype that surrounded it, "That...that day in the hall, when we were yelling...Why did you grab me?"

"What?" He squinted, urging her to meet his face.

"When I said it wasn't about us...and you said, 'Like hell it isn't,' um, you, um...you grabbed my arm. What was that all about?"

"I, I don't know," He said honestly, leaning back in his chair and letting the memories of the day wash over him, "Emma, I...I must have just got caught up in the moment. I wasn't trying to hurt you, and I'm so sorry if I did. I just...I didn't want you to run away from me. I guess, I guess I was scared you would."

She finally looked up to see the sincerity in his eyes and his heart practically leaping out of his chest into hers. "Okay," She whispered, biting the inside of her lip and letting his answer sink in.

"Emma, where did that come from? Is everything alright? Did, did someone hurt you? Did I hurt you? I swear, I won't ever touch you like that again; I didn't want to—"

"You're fine, Will. I...I just needed to know. And I believe you, that you didn't want to hurt me."

Carl's actions were starting to make sense. Perhaps it was a male 'fight or flight,' characteristic that was being acted on. He was afraid she'd leave him, and rather than use his words, he'd use his actions to demonstrate she had no reason to. Although, his grip did not need to be as strong as it was, Will's hadn't been...

"Emma, you know I care about you, and your well being. Did someone hurt you? Please answer me. I'm not trying to upset you, but I want you to be safe."

"I'm fine. No one hurt me," Not much, not yet, "I just wanted a little closure, so thank you."

Now trapped in an awkward silence, she was almost grateful for her phone blaring from her purse until she caught sight of the caller. Glancing at Will, she apologized and answered, "Hello?"

Knowing exactly who it was, Will took their empty cups and walked them to the trash as slowly as possible, but still keeping an ear for Emma's end of the conversation.

"No, I was just, um...out getting coffee. Yeah, I'll be home in a little while. Sorry, I, um, must have lost track of the time. Mhm, I'll call later, okay?"

Sitting back down, Will sighed, bringing up the inevitable, "You didn't tell Carl you'd be seeing me?" Emma shook her head and Will cleared his throat, "Em, I don't want to make him upset. I told you that I wanted Carl comfortable with having me around you."

"Well, I mean, we didn't exactly have plans until right before we left, I just...didn't bother telling him. It's okay."

Knowing it wasn't and that her refusing to tell her boyfriend that she was on very good terms with someone she used to love was certainly not a good sign for him, Will started wrapping up their meeting.

With a promise of seeing each other soon and a very brief, friendly half-hug, Will walked Emma to her car and waved as she drove down the street.

* * *

She moved through her house in a haze of a good mood that evening and much throughout the night. Emma's meeting with Will had been nearly perfect; and with the exception of the 'not telling Carl' about being with Will and him seeming mildly slighted over it, the afternoon couldn't have been better. Emma was practically dancing with her swiffer as she cleaned the kitchen floor with old rock songs blasting from her laptop on the counter.

The night continued much in the same manner of happiness, and by the time she felt sleep starting to work it's way to the front of her mind, she realized it was after ten and she'd yet to shower.

Setting the water warm, not scalding, Emma relaxed, her shoulders falling and any traces of tension that had remained after even a wonderful afternoon with Will were dripping from her body as the dribbles of water fell from her skin.

Running her fingers through her hair to soak it throughly, she hummed to herself and let her thoughts wander to things far away from Carl, Will, or any other man that had entered her life. All she wanted to think about was herself.

As she rinsed, Emma was prepared to allow herself a few additional moments beneath the warmth and security the faucet provided, but what sounded like the door slamming made her eyes widen and heart pound wildly in her chest.

"Emma!" The bathroom suddenly became greeted with a cool blast of air as the door was forced open and a male voice nearly shouted her name over the water.

Unsure of what to do, as this was the part in those horror movies she liked to scare herself with wherein the young victim was either taken hostage or killed on the spot, Emma remained still for a moment before bravely sticking her head out of the curtain to see Carl standing with his arms crossed in the doorway.

With a sigh of relief that it hadn't been a murderer or worse in her home, Emma's thoughts quickly changed to disturbed. She could have sworn the door was locked and just who did he think he was charging into her bathroom unannounced?

"Um...excuse me?" She stuttered with great annoyance and hope he'd take the hint to get out.

"Are you almost done?" He asked, unbudging.

"Can you get out?"

Afraid he was going to toss out some nonsense about being her boyfriend and it was 'time' he saw her naked, Emma was pleasantly surprised when he turned on his heel and shut the door while she turned off the water.

Not entirely sure how she was going to approach the situation, Emma took an exceptionally long time drying off before scampering into the bedroom to put on the most conservative pair of pajamas she owned, with a bra underneath the long sleeved, crew neck, knit top and pair of pants that fit around her waist, rather than fall to her hips like most she wore.

She ruffled her hair with mousse to let it air-dry into ringlets, hoping he wouldn't want to tug on a wet mess as he often did when he was over at night. With a heavy sigh and hard swallow, Emma stepped into her slippers and wrapped her arms protectively around herself while making her way to the living room, where Carl was on her laptop, going through folders of her pictures.

Clearing her throat to make her entrance known, Carl snapped his head towards her frame and took in the sight of her, standing shyly in her own home and ordered, "Come sit down."

"Carl? How, um...I thought you worked late on Thursday nights?"

"Oh, I do. I just needed to see you."

"Well next time," She said, laying down her house rules gently, "I'd appreciate it if you didn't barge into my bathroom while the door was closed and I was clearly in the shower."

He huffed and closed the computer, sliding it on the coffee table, "I hardly see how it matters. Your my girlfriend, it's perfectly fine and _normal_ for me to see you naked."

Emma shook her head. "And I understand that, but I'd still like my privacy while I'm in the bathroom."

"I didn't realize we had a closed door policy, Emmie." He raised a brow, clearly annoyed with the fact that she was giving him any sort of direction.

Continuing to stand up for herself, Emma stated, "Well, it kind of freaked me out. I can't say that I like having people wander in, at night, without knocking...It is my house, Carl. Speaking of...that, um...How did you get in? I know-I swear I locked the door."

"I had a copy of your key made," Carl said as if it were the most normal action in the world.

"Excuse me?" Emma's eyes grew wide as she clearly disagreed with the simplicity of his thinking, "You-you had a _copy_ of my _key_ made?"

"Relax, babe. That's what couples do."

"Yeah, maybe a long time into the relationship! Carl, this just...I...It's too much, too soon."

"Too soon? Listen, you haven't ever even been in a normal relationship, tootse, so just keep your mouth shut on the whole 'timeline' thing."

Pressing her lips together when he told her to keep her mouth shut, Emma sighed, "I-I guess I'm just not comfortable with someone, um, being able to get into my house at their leisure. It just...I don't know."

"Tell you what," He suddenly seemed to be taking a sweet angle to the whole disaster, "If it makes you more comfortable, I'll knock before letting myself in."

"Actually," Emma cleared her throat, "Maybe, um...If you could call, before even coming over, so I can plan...make sure I'm not in the shower or—"

"Or have your pal Will Schuester over?"

"E-excuse me?" She gasped lightly.

His arms were over his chest. "I know you were with him today."

Emma blinked, "How...How do you know that? I didn't, I didn't tell you..."

"And why didn't you tell me?"

"You-you asked me to stay away from him," Emma answered meekly, "I-I just met him for coffee. We talked about school. That was it."

"For two and a half hours?"

She was trembling now, "How do you know? Carl, he is just a friend! I'm aloud to have friends outside of this relationship!"

"I said that I didn't want you around him. Was that unclear?"

Emma said nothing and backed into the armrest of the couch, about to bring her knees to her chest to hide her face as tears dripped down her cheeks.

"Look at me."

When she refused, Carl pulled her chin up violently, causing her breath to hasten and eyes to seise watering in fear, "C-carl—"

"Don't speak," He ordered, pressing her legs down and crawling on top of them, effectively pinning her to the couch, her position making the pajama top roll up enough to reveal her flat stomach, which he ran a hand across and made her shiver and stop breathing until it was removed. She closed her eyes and crinkled her forehead.

In that moment, Emma saw herself screaming and thrashing as Carl tore her clothing off her body and his own, moving inside of her and taking what didn't belong to him against her will.

He placed a hand against her shoulder while the other cupped her cheek, almost lovingly, snapping her out of the nightmare. "W-Will is just a fri—"

"We're not talking about that."

"Carl, I don't want this to—"

Carl cut her off by pressing more force against her to keep his authority. "I said no talking," He hissed, wedging his knee between her legs. "Show me that you deserve me, Emma."

"I-I don't deserve you. I can't give this to you," She whispered, ashamed that she couldn't perform even the simplest acts of intimacy for her partner.

He pressed a firm kiss to her lips while sliding his hand up her shirt, clearly displeased to see she was wearing a bra.

Emma wasn't responding to his mouth, so he pressed down harder and slid his tongue inside to meet hers, which he met with a gasp as she pulled away best she could in her position.

Seeming to calm down as she evaded him, Carl sat up and pulled Emma with him, kissing her cheek considerably more gentler than before. "We'll work on this. We'll make you into someone who deserves to be with me."

Emma shook her head, still in disbelief of what he'd done and said over the course of the past fifteen minutes. "How did you know where I was today? And how did you get a copy of my house key?"

Carl didn't answer as he pressed more kisses along her cheek, down her jaw and neck, then finally over her cotton-covered chest.

"P-please, just tell me. I won't be mad. P-please, stop," She whispered, grabbing hold of his hair and pulling him off.

It was not a good move.

In another burst of anger, Carl pushed her down so her back hit the hard edge of the armrest and stood, grabbing his own keys from the table and storming out of the condo.

Emma took a few minutes to collect herself before standing on shaky feet and moving to lock the door, bolting it so he couldn't let himself back in without breaking it down.

Once she turned off all the lights throughout the house, she trembled to the bedroom, falling to the mattress and letting herself sob loudly until she had cried herself to sleep.

* * *

She woke to a text message that read, "I'll pick you up at seven. We're going back to my place. Bring a change of clothes."

Emma stiffened at the sight of the words, in awe that Carl had the nerve to continue putting up with her behavior after the night previous.

She started to rationalize the situation in her head. She wasn't very willing to ask for help when she needed it; maybe he'd only made the copy of her key in case she hadn't been answering her phone and he thought something was terribly wrong, or even locked herself out. It was a bit of a stretch, but at least it made sense.

Perhaps he'd been out for a coffee break at the office and had entered the same shop she had been in. It was only a ten minute drive, her back had been to the door and Will didn't know what Carl looked like. It could have been possible.

As for his rough handling of her, maybe she'd finally sent him over the edge. Maybe he'd been hoping for a romantic end after a rough day of stitching gums or soaking children's teeth in fluoride and she'd brought down his dreams.

With these thoughts in mind, Emma pulled out a pair of cotton shorts and a v-neck top, tying her hair into a knot atop her head to move about her summer morning routine of cleaning, spending time on the elliptical and showering before noon.

She hummed softly while washing the kitchen windows, the Windex scent heavy in the air as the temperature climbed outside and she'd yet to turn on the air — if she wanted to have a new car within the next few months as she planned, any extra bills would be a financial toll she couldn't risk.

Just as she was about to move for her workout, a rapping at her door had her heart sink to her feet. Carl was the last person she wanted to see her in such a state of undress and after the night before, she wasn't sure she was ready for him to be in her home again.

She was slightly relieved when she walked past the living room window and saw Will's beater in her driveway, but the panic set back in once more when she realized what she was wearing and what Carl's reaction would be if he found out the man he detested was in her house.

"Hey!" Will was in an exceptionally good mood as he gave her a once-over with his eyes which he'd probably hoped Emma hadn't noticed. "Mind if I come in? It won't be long."

She stepped aside while he continued to babble, "Sorry for not letting you know I was stopping by, I called your cellphone like, three times, but it kept saying your line was busy — you might want to have that looked at."

Emma paused to think it through — had Carl moved so desperately to not want her having contact with the Spanish teacher that he'd actually had Will's number blocked from her phone?

"Um, have a seat," She sighed, moving them into the kitchen to sit at the stools beneath the counter, not ready to be on her couch after the night before, "Sorry I'm not exactly decent—"

"You're fine, Em, you look great! Um..." She flushed and looked away. "Um, anyway, I was out early this morning hunting yard sales for a new-used bed frame," The unsaid reason behind needing said furniture item spoke thunderously for Emma, "And I happened to come across this." Will reached into his pocket and pulled out a vintage, gold sweater-clip, with turquoise flowers to hold Emma's cardigans together.

Her mouth dropped slightly as he laid it out on the counter and her hand met her heart as she sought words to thank him, her eyes meeting his, glistening with disbelief that he cared enough to pick something up for her.

"I thought you might like it. I probably could have given it to you the next time I see you, but you were on my way home and I thought—"

Emma shook her head and tossed her arms around his neck without thinking twice about what Carl would say or do in regard to the action.

His arms circled her waist and he laughed into her neck, making her shiver, but not uncomfortably like Carl had last night. Rather, she held on tighter, sighing contently and nestling her red hair into him, never wanting to let go.

He continued to hold her until almost three full minutes went by and she showed no sign of letting go. With a touch to her arm, Will pulled Emma away to meet her moist gaze. "Are you alright, Em?"

She nodded and wiped at her eyes, "I'm just...I...Thank you, Will. It's so sweet of you."

Will wanted nothing more than to move her into his lap and stroke her hair, kiss her forehead and whisper into her ear, but he settled on asking, "Seriously, did I overwhelm you or is there something else?"

Emma shook her head to keep up her lie, "I just...I really needed...I needed to see you, I guess. You always put me in a better mood, make everything...better. Make my messy life a little bit cleaner."

Will sighed as a flush covered his neck and cheeks, "I'm glad I can do that for you Emma." He cupped her cheek briefly, just long enough to be a little more than platonic, "Will you please tell me what happened? You're upset, I can tell."

Biting her lip, Emma nodded, agreeing to give him the truth, "Carl and I just...we didn't have a very good night last night. I don't want to talk about it."

"Oh, Emma." Will took her hands, stroking her thumb and avoiding her eyes. "I'm sorry that happened to you. I hope everything works out. But, I know you've got things to do, and I've got a little get together for the Glee kids tonight. I was going to ask you if you wanted to come yesterday, but then you mentioned your plans for some gala with Carl."

Emma blinked slowly, wishing she could join Will, who never judged her or pressured her into anything, instead of being paraded around by the man who made her question everything about herself, yet she couldn't bring herself to leave.

"I-I wish I could come Will, but Carl doesn't like to change plans."

He stood, heading to the door while she followed, "I understand. I hope you have a better time tonight. I'll talk to you later, alright?"

She smiled and waved, "Bye, Will. Thank you."

* * *

Carl picked her up in a foul mood five minutes past seven, muttering curses about the police and she felt it was best not to ask, although inner, vindictive Emma was dancing that he'd finally got caught doing sixty-five in a residential area.

She wasn't afraid of going out with Carl in public. It was annoying, but he wouldn't do anything to upset his 'beautiful girlfriend' around the high-class individuals he regularly kept in his company. With one of her finer cocktail dresses and thinner pairs of heels, he opened the car door for her, chivalrous, and slammed his own with an angry force. Emma settled her bag on the floor, containing another pair of all-covering pajamas and a more casual top and pair of capris, as he hadn't mentioned what they'd be doing after their event.

"There's going to be a cheese-and-wine tasting before the actual dinner. Try not to make that face where your nose gets all scrunched up when you see the cheese."

Emma kept quiet, agreeing to attempt to remain cool around the offending dairy product and enjoyed the soft rock coming from the speakers until Carl switched the station to hip-hop. She didn't mind it, but they weren't fifteen-year-olds on their way to homecoming.

Of course, he was the perfect gentlemen in the country club they spent the evening at. He had one arm wrapped protectively — possessively — around hers and complimented her gorgeous body to his friends in swanky suits. He offered her wine and pulled out her seat, placed a hand above her rear as they danced and pecked her sweetly on the cheek.

Everything would go smoothly and pleasantly until they were alone in his home.

His house was the ritz as anyone would expect, two stories with four bedrooms and more bathrooms than Emma had ever seen. She knew that if this relationship didn't suffer the same fate as every other she'd ever been in had, living here would drive her to her breaking point time and time again at the wide area she'd have to clean.

The enormous, mansion-like abode was complete with a marble walkway from the point where Carl parked his fancy car to the oak floors that surfaced the inside.

His furniture was imported primarily from Ireland and carpets were hand crafted by arabian artisans. His limited lighting along the ground floor cast shadows across Emma's face and as Carl took her shrug from her shoulders and hung it in a closet, she felt a shiver up her spine that she knew wasn't from the cold.

"We're going upstairs."

Her breath caught in her throat and her fingers curled into the shape of fists, "Can we um...n-not?"

He wiped around, eyes blazing in frustration. "Emma, for the love of christ, it's been three months. You need to let me—"

"Carl!" She shouted, getting defensive when it came to her virginity, not that he knew, "It's my body."

"You are in a relationship with me. That means you are mine. Your body is not just yours anymore. Stop being such a goddamn prude."

When Carl called Emma his, something inside of her snapped, "I don't belong to you! You don't own me! You think that I need to prove to you that I deserve you, well let me tell you, I don't. I don't. I don't. I don't." She reached into the closet, completely relying on the adrenaline rush to fuel her actions, as she had done the day in the teachers lounge with Will. This was so out of character for her, she could barely comprehend the words that were flying out of her mouth as she spoke them. "In fact, maybe _I_ deserve better than _you_!"

She turned on her heel, her emotions stamped with approval from the same inner-Emma who cheered at Carl's speeding ticket. She was prepared to finally put an end to rationalizing Carl's behavior — to stop patronizing herself for not being good enough for any other man, to let herself be content with her lonely state for the rest of her life.

Suddenly, she yelped in pain as her arm was twisted behind her back and her cheek harshly met the cool stained glass of the window near the front door.

"You aren't going anywhere," His voice rasped in her ear and his grip on her arm intensified as he shoved her up a little higher.

"Carl..." She felt the tears burning behind her now shut eyelids, cursing herself for ever allowing the conditions of their relationship to force her into such a position. "P-please, you're...you're hurting me."

"Oh, this hurts?" He moved his knee to ram her mid-back, "Think of how much harder it's going to hurt if you walk out that fucking door. You aren't going anywhere. You are mine."

He dropped her body in a heap, letting her fall to the hard wood floor without a second thought, "When you think you can cut the drama, I'll be upstairs."

Her legs were beneath her and arms spread across the floor. Once she heard his bedroom door slam shut, Emma found the physical strength to pull herself up, but her spirit was sorely wounded and after sitting, staring blankly at the lines from aged trees on the floor, she swayed on her feet, dizzy from the encounter, and walked out the door.

She slid her three-inch heels off, knowing she couldn't move very stealthily in them. Once she was a block away and had her feet covered in a layer of earth, Emma pulled out her cellphone and called a service she'd had in her phone once she moved into Lima, just in case.

The taxi man spoke broken English and the car smelled like rotting fish, but the germs on the seat and grime on her feet were the least of her worries as Emma gingerly poked at a hand-sized bruise on her right arm was starting to form. The lump in her throat that had threatened to rise since the ordeal started was released and she kept her sobs silent as tears trickled down her face.

She stayed with Carl because she hadn't wanted to end up alone. Now, in desperation to be alone, she was going to end up staying with Carl. The bruise on her arm mocked her, and she knew that if she tried to run, many more would follow, forever marring her pale frame with ugly shades purples and blues.

The driver took notice of her disheveled appearance in the rear-view mirror, tear stains down her cheeks, mascara leaving raccoon marks around her eyes and hair a ratted mess. "Oi, Lady, I know it not place of mine, but you okay?"

All she could do was shake her head, it wasn't his place, but having someone at least pay attention to her broken state felt relieving.

"Oh, you be okay, right? What ever is, be better, right?"

She sighed, it wouldn't be better. The fight may have been through for the evening, but the battle with Carl was far from over.

* * *

Never have I received such an overwhelming response from part one of a multi-chapter story. I was quite nervous and not sure how well this piece would be received, but thank you, thank you, thank you all so much for your kind words and enthusiastic comments looking forward to this next bit. That said, because of the response, I was able to get this out in record time. It's been ages since I've been able to produce a writing this timely!

This is far from over, and the next chapter could be posted by the end of the week (fingers crossed). It's awful to beat Emma up, but as you all have been saying, it'd be just like her to rationalize the situation that it's all her fault. I hope you're continuing to enjoy the story, even as the brutality was increased from the last section.

Thank you all, sincerely. I hope this chapter was just as good as the last. Again, feedback is wonderful and I appreciate it more than I can express.


	3. Part III

She'd spent so much time crying over the course of twelve sleepless hours, Emma could literally not see anymore. Her eyelids had inflated and nearly closed together, her head was in a near-migraine state and she'd probably be congested for a week. After an hour of sitting mindlessly on the shower floor while cold water beat down on her back, Emma finally felt sleep weighing on her.

_She was with Will. They were in the faculty lounge and they sat opposite from one another, laughing and having a good time in each other's company. _

_He suddenly stopped laughing and tilted his head in her direction, "What's that, Em? On your cheek? And what did you do to your arm?"_

_Emma put a hand to her face, feeling hot, bruised skin, and her eyes drifted to her arm, which had suddenly been wrapped in a cast. _

"_I-I...I must have fallen," She stuttered, trying to maneuver hair across her battered, blue face and put her arm beneath the table in hopes that not seeing it would end Will's questioning._

_His voice grew darker, "Emma, what happened?"_

_She bit her lip, one tear leaking from her eye. _

"_Was it Carl? Emma, did he do this?" _

_She didn't answer and Will stood, moving in front of her and twisting the seat so he was beneath her face. "Em, did he hurt you?"_

_With a loud cry, Emma tossed her non-broken arm around his neck and he pulled her down to his lap, stroking her hair. "Sh," He whispered, "It's going to be okay. I'm going to take care of this."_

"_Wh-what are you going to do?" She choked, meeting his eyes, which were dark with something akin to revenge. _

"_I'm going to make him wish he was never born." Will pulled her up, gently tangled their fingers and marched her down the hallway, practically dragging her._

"_W-Will, you can't! If, if I try and leave him, he'll only hurt me worse!" Tears spilled onto the tile below them and Will stopped, cupped her cheeks and kissed her softly._

"_Emma, sweetheart, I will never, never let him hurt you again. I'm going to take care of you—"_

"_Will, please—"_

_The front doors of the school burst open, revealing Carl in his wild anger, storming through the hallways, which had suddenly been filled with students, all stopping to observe the interaction before them._

"_Get your hands off my girl!" Carl cried, pushing Will forcefully, his back being thrown into the crowed. _

_Suddenly, Finn and Puck appeared from nowhere, lifted Will to his feet and the world began to blur around Emma. Carl and Will were on the floor, duking it out while the teenagers chanted and hollered behind them. _

"_Stop!" She screamed at the top of her lungs as Carl's fist met Will's nose and the crook of Will's arm had wound around the other man's neck._

_As she was prepared to make a monologue, Emma was stopped by the thunderous voice of Principal Figgins, who disrupted the students and approached both men. He seemed to be talking, but Emma couldn't focus on the words coming out of his mouth as her eyes drifted to a spot on the wall, which was growing brighter by the minute._

"_Emma!" _

_The voice was disembodied and she couldn't place it as it grew louder. It wasn't Will, it wasn't Figgins, it had to be—_

Her eyes fluttered open, revealing the man who she'd spent the last day crying over.

She sat up, rubbing furiously at her face and avoiding his while she tried to regain a better sense of vision.

"Why haven't you called?" Were the first words to leave his mouth when she finally appeared to be out of her sleepy state.

Emma's muscles were strained, but she managed a glare in his direction. "Why are you here?"

Carl's arms were crossed and his expression was unreadable as Emma made no motion of moving out of bed anytime soon. "I hadn't heard from you in a day."

"You scared me, Carl," A weak voice said from seemingly nowhere, as Emma hadn't planned on announcing the truth, but leaving it to rot in the past so they could try and move on.

"I wish I hadn't had to do that," Was his calm response as he moved to sit next to her on the bed, resting a hand over her leg through the thin material of a sheet. His eyes scanned her cheek, where a light, barely noticeable bruise had formed from her face meeting his wall with such force.

"You didn't have to do that," Emma whispered, a lump in her throat rising, "You didn't have to hurt me."

"I didn't want to hurt you."

"But you did! You did hurt me, and I asked that you not let yourself in, but you did!"

Carl pushed her into the soft of the mattress, gently, making her eyes widen with fear, "Tootse, relax. I'm not here to steal your virginity."

She sputtered and tried to sit up, but his palms were pressed on her shoulders to restrict her movement.

"It wasn't exactly hard to figure out. You just confirmed it. Now, relax. I won't take it from you. I want you to give it to me."

He twisted so he was straddling her hips, which he often did, but always on the couch. Struggling to remain in control of the situation, — which she was sure she never would be — Emma shook her head and pushed his chest lightly. "Carl!" It was a plea, rather than an angry shout to stop. She was confident that wouldn't have been received well.

"Emma," He muttered, dropping lazy kisses above each of her eyebrows. "I'm going to show you how this is supposed to happen."

A hand crept up the thin material of her tank top and Emma grabbed it, stopping the digits from tracing any lines or patterns. "Carl. I want you to leave."

"You want a lot of things, Emma." His hand stayed stationary, but the pressure to her skin intensified and her organs felt like they were at his disposal. "But you don't seem to want me. To busy crying into the arms of Will Schuester?"

"Why is this always about him?" Emma felt her chin quivering as she continued, "I've seen him twice in a month. There is nothing between us."

"Twice?" Carl raised a brow, clearly not having known about Will's brief drop-by the day of their incident. Perhaps he didn't have someone trailing her as she'd thought. Maybe he had just gotten coffee that day and pieced together the timing from her phone calls. "When was this second time?" He sat up, but didn't release her.

"He, he, um..." Emma stared at the blanket, the ceiling, anything but Carl's face. "He just swung by, on friday. To give me something. It was no big deal. He was here for less than ten minutes."

"What did he give you?" Carl raised a brow and climbed off Emma, clearly ready to search for whatever it was, not ready to believe something like a cryptic file for school.

She didn't respond and he asked again, a touch of malice laced in the words, "What did he give you?"

"Some stupid sweater clip...thing..." It wasn't stupid, she really loved it. But she didn't want him knowing that.

"Where is it?"

"Oh, please don't break it!" Emma whined, climbing out of bed as he hunted through the drawers of her jewelry box. "Carl! There's a lot in there and —"

"Quiet. I'm not going to break it," His tone was mocking and he shot her a look that directed her to take the piece of vintage wear out of the box.

Relenting, she showed him the turquoise and gold chain. He turned it over a few times in his hand and gave a huff. "I've got to go to work."

"I-It's a sunday," Emma raised an eyebrow, her arms crossed over her chest, protectively.

"Hard to believe, a man actually doing work for his money, rather than dancing around a choir room or shopping at yard sales, I know," He was becoming bitter and it showed. He'd yet to purchase her a token of his 'affection' in the form of silver or gold. However, Emma wasn't sure she wanted jewelry from Carl. It'd be more a symbol of the ownership he had on her than a reminder of his love.

"I guess I'll see you later, then." Emma cleared her throat and made a motion to walk him to the door.

Before she could lead him, his arms wound around her tightly and he pressed a surprisingly gentle kiss to her lips, one that she felt herself responding to against her better judgement. "I'll stop by before you go to bed."

Emma nodded, dazed at his strangely sweet, bipolar demeanor and watched him leave with a heavy sigh.

She was beginning to wonder if she was the only one with a mental problem in their relationship.

* * *

As promised, Carl had swung over around ten, a seemingly genuine smile plastered to his face and a square package sticking out of his pocket.

Emma sighed softly when she opened the door, watching him for any signs of anger or alternative motive for stepping into her condo.

Seeing none, she lead him to the couch, where he pressed his lips to her cheek and placed a black box in her hands.

Her eyes met his, filled with questions, wondering if the obvious jewelry item was meant to compete with Will's or be a sincere apology.

"C-Carl, what's this for?"

"Because you're my girlfriend." He shrugged, clearly meaning more behind his words — she was _his_ girlfriend; therefore, _his_. "Open it, babe."

She bit her lip and did so, eyes misting when she saw the Tiffany's signature embossed on the lid. Never in her wildest dreams had Emma anticipated owning a piece of jewelry from the namesake.

Gasping when she caught sight of the necklace, a silver chain with a drop-pendant style of diamonds, six perfect precious rocks graduated in a perfect platinum column.

"C-Carl, I-I, it's..."

It was as beautiful as she wanted to say, but she had no words to describe the extravagant gift.

"Put it on," He suggested, offering his hands to assist her.

For a brief moment, Emma had a flash of allowing Carl to put the chain around her neck only to wind up being choked by it.

However, as his skilled fingers clasped at the back of the necklace, she relaxed. Maybe there relationship wasn't as crazy as she was making it out to be.

"Come here," Carl whispered, his arms opened and she hesitated only for a moment before settling into them, letting her face rest on his chest, craving the gentle touch he seemed to be offering her.

For the next hour they sat in the quiet of Emma's condo, Carl's hand ran up and down her spine and he occasionally nuzzled his cheek against her hair.

He didn't slide his fingers up her shirt.

He didn't force hot, hard kisses to her lips.

He didn't call her 'babe,' or 'tootse.'

He simply held her.

As midnight rolled closer and Emma had all but fallen asleep in his hold, Carl stood and cupped her face, pressing a soft kiss to her lips, which she responded to without fear of being violated.

"Goodnight, Emma," He murmured, "Call me when you wake up."

"Okay," She agreed, walking him to the door and smiling as he left, not feeling relieved to be rid of his presence as she usually did.

Moving to her bedroom, Emma caught a glimmer from her diamonds in the mirror. She sighed upon seeing the silver chain around her neck.

The gift, while unbelievably stunning and everything a girl could ever ask for, simply wasn't her.

She took it off and laid it on the dresser, next to the sweater clip Will had given her the week previous, having forgotten to put it away after Carl analyzed it earlier in the day.

With a heavy sigh, she compared the two pieces of jewelry from the men in her life.

Carl's was exceptional, likely with a several thousand dollar name tag. Will's was second hand and had likely cost less than five dollars. Carl's was glitzy and loud, while Will's was unique and flattering. Carl's was impersonal and would have pleased any woman in the nation.

Will's was perfect, picked out specifically with her in mind, spotted with care and given with no motivation other than wanting to know he'd thought about her.

She hung Carl's along with her other silver necklaces.

She kept Will's out so she could see it again in the morning.

* * *

July ended and August bore a heatwave that had Emma wishing, desperately, she was out east visiting her family, where the temperatures were twenty degrees cooler than those that plagued the midwest.

"Carl, I know that you'd prefer I didn't go, but—"

"Listen, babe, I've got a root canal in ten minutes. Can we not discuss this? We already decided you'd be staying here next week and coming with me to the charity gala."

Emma sighed and twisted her phone between her ear and shoulder as she unlocked her school office, preparing for the school year on her own time, when the faculty work room wouldn't be packed and machines would still be clean from the summer janitorial staff. "O-oh, okay. Um, are you coming over, later?"

"I've got lunch after my next procedure. I'll stop by on my—"

"I'm at school, actually," She said, placing a box on her desk and surveying the room she hadn't set foot in since the end of June. "I've got about a hundred things to do before the rest of the teachers—"

He cut her off, "I'll come over for dinner, then."

He hung up with a brief goodbye and left Emma cringing and sighing deeply as she glanced around, noticing everything looked like it had been cleaned while she was away, and while there would be a few things she touched up, she was grateful to not have to scrub the entire office down.

Setting up her laptop and putting a few books on shelves, Emma headed to the workroom with a box to gather fresh supplies of pens, pencils, tape, staples and anything else she might need before the remainder of the staff fought over them like hungry vultures.

Distracted by thought's of Carl's lack of trust in her — she thought their past few weeks hadn't been awful, although they still walked a thin line of patience when it came to their physical relationship — Emma didn't notice the lounge door opening to reveal—

"Emma!" Will shouted, eyes wide and a stack of sheet music, hot off the copy machine in his arms.

"Will?" She smiled, stepping forward and smiling into a one-armed embrace from the music man. "What are you doing here already?"

"Getting the choir room set up...what about yourself?"

"Oh, same, with, well, with my office, I mean. And I've got a ton of work to do before the school year starts, with scheduling and getting things ready for the senior class...I usually come in early to get that set up."

They chatted casually in the doorway until Emma took a few steps in, encouraging him to follow her while she dug through boxes until she had an ample amount of supplies. "...And then I hit my head on the side of the dock, and it was all a blur after that," Will recounted the tale of his weekend getaway with some of his old friend at a lake, leaving Emma to giggle as they walked back to her office together.

"Well, at least you had fun, right?" She met his eyes, hers showing signs that her summer had been anything but.

"Yeah...things not going so well?"

"Oh," She sighed, not daring to actually speak of their subject but float around the idea. "Things are alright. There are some days when things can be kind of difficult, and other days where maybe I'm the difficult thing...you know. But, um, not overall awful? I don't know."

Realizing she was babbling and they'd made it to the glass of her office, she quieted and Will ruffled the paper between his palms. "Maybe _things_ need a little break? Sometimes that makes them a little better. Give things some space so they can work on thinking of how to put themselves back together."

"No, no...Things will take care of themselves."

Taking the hint to drop the topic, Will switched gears, "Well, actually, since you're here, maybe you could help me out with a little project?"

She shrugged, "Sure. What do you need?"

"Come with me," He smirked as she set the box down in her office and fell in step with him once more to the choir room. "I'm in the process of picking songs for our opening invitational. It's going to be the second week of September, as a welcome back concert. I could really use your input."

"Oh, I'd love to help you pick! What did you have in mind?" Emma leaned her elbows on the shiny surface of the piano and watched him pull out six different sets of music.

"I've got six. I need three."

Emma poured over them, excited to be helping with Glee. "Oh, well, I'd never turn down Guns 'n Roses," She pointed to a copy of _Sweet Child of Mine_, "I bet that Finn would do really nice with the vocals on that, too."

"And he really likes the classic rock. Plus I could have Artie ripping it up on guitar."

"Hm," She sighed, hand meeting her heart as she caught sight of a Johnny Cash song, "My dad listens to this all the time."

"I was thinking maybe putting Puck on a solo for _Rose of My Heart_, with an acoustic guitar, if he'd be willing. It'd be amazing, I'm sure."

"Oh, gosh, Will, that sounds wonderful! I can feel myself tearing up already," Emma giggled, moving to the next piece, "Um...no Nickelback. Too mainstream. Too overplayed."

"Noted." Will flipped the sheet over and placed another one down with a huff, "I'm having a real difficult time rearranging this one for a group, but I'm determined. I think it could be really powerful and I'd like to do it."

"Foo Fighters?" Emma raised a brow. "I don't think I've ever heard this particular song, actually."

"You've never heard this?" He pulled two seats out and moved quickly to grab his guitar. "It's great, Prince sang it at the Superbowl a few years ago, actually."

"Do you think I watch football?" Emma laughed again, crossing her jean-covered legs — she'd been anticipating cleaning all morning — and smiled, excited to hear Will sing for her.

"Okay, um...ready?" He asked, the sheet music in front of him, though he knew the song relatively well.

He started slowly, strumming and then singing in a soft, low rasp, "_I've got another confession to make...I'm your fool. Everyone's got their chains to break, holding you. Were you born to resist or be abused? Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you_?"

Emma's heart stopped beating as he sang about hurt and her throat became clogged with unshed tears as he asked her, unknowingly, through song, if she was being taken advantage of.

He continued on, seemingly telling their story without realizing the symbolism behind his words. When he hit the bridge, Emma let a few salty tears roll down her cheeks.

Will caught sight of her tears and strummed a little softer when he came to the close of the song. "_I've got another confession, my friend. I'm no fool. I'm getting tired of starting again, somewhere new. Were you born to resist or be abused? I swear I'll never give in, and I'll refuse. Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you? Has someone taken your faith, it's real, the pain you feel. You trust, you must confess. Is someone getting the best of you?_"

He finished with a dramatic lift of his arm as he tore the guitar from his frame and moved closer to Emma, "You okay?"

She dabbed at her eyes and nodded, putting an arm around him, "That was lovely, thank you."

Will melted into her embrace as he returned it whole-heartedly. "Emma, I hope you don't think I'm intruding, but...I can't help but be worried about you. I know it's not my place, but what's happening with you and Carl?"

She shook her head into his shoulder. "Nothing, Will. Sometimes, it's just hard for me to...be in a relationship," She said, knowing he caught onto what she meant. "And, we haven't you know...if you were, um...still wondering. But, I...I think he's getting impatient."

She couldn't be understating the underlying issues between she and Carl anymore if she tried.

"Emma, just...just remember, it's your body. You don't have to do anything you're not prepared to do. If he really cares about you, he'll understand and be willing to wait. If not, well..."

She dipped her head further into his neck, unsure if Carl really did care about her; which was likely why he wasn't willing to wait. "I...I think you should pick another song."

He sighed and nodded against her hair. "I'll keep looking."

Emma pulled away and eyed the bulletin board in the front of the room which contained two white, dull sheets of paper. "You know we have supplies for the bulletin boards in the workroom, right? There's paper and boarders in there."

He shrugged, "Actually, Terri used to decorate my bulletin boards in the beginning of the school year. The one thing she'd do for me. I'm not exactly a crafty, visual art person."

Emma shrugged and cleared her throat. "I'll help you if you'd like me too. I'm good at those kinds of things, you know."

Will stood and offered her a hand, "Only if you're not too busy. I don't want you getting all behind on my account."

"Oh, I'll be fine. It's only the second week of August, there's plenty of time."

For the next hour, the educators rolled and unrolled paper, fought with staplers and threw things at one another, and somehow ended up doubled over in laughter at something that wasn't particularly funny until—

"What's going on, babe?"

Emma's eyes opened to a size that Will wasn't sure he'd ever seen and she quickly composed herself enough to whip around and face the tall, dark haired man in the doorway.

"C-Carl," She gasped, "What, um, what are you doing here?"

He stepped into the room, arms crossed. "Just stopping by." Glancing up, he put a face to the curly haired man who seemed to be haunting him. "Who's this?" He asked, playing dumb.

"Um, C-Carl, this is, um...Will. Will, this is Carl, my boyfriend."

The two men exchanged a forced handshake and phony grin. "I've heard about you," Carl said with a smug expression.

Will didn't respond with a cheesy sentiment and instead, turned to Emma, "Thank you so much for all your help. I couldn't have done it without you."

She smiled and scooted towards Carl. "Yeah, um...no problem. I'll, um...I'll see you, later...I guess...later on, here...at school, because, we um...we have to work and uh—"

"Em," Will sent her a look to cut her off. "Are you coming in tomorrow?"

"I-I um, I don't know, yet...actually."

Carl watched the exchange and eventually took Emma by the upper arm and led her out of the room. "What are you doing here?" She pulled away from him when they got close to her office.

"Is it wrong to want to visit my girlfriend at work? But I'm glad I did. I knew there was something going on between you and him," Carl hissed, his grip on her arm returning after having been missing over the course of the past, slightly blissful, month.

"For the last time, Carl," Emma snapped, her patience on ice, "There is nothing going on between myself and Will. He is my friend. No, you know what? He is my best friend. And I'm not going to lose someone I care about. We work together, and you're...you're just going to have to accept that!"

Suddenly, her back was against the glass door of her office. "You do not speak to me like that, understand?"

Emma shook her head and tried to push Carl off, but her effort was in vain. "Carl, I'm not going to lose my best friend! I'm sorry if—"

"You either pick me, or you pick him. I am not going to share you with a guy who thinks he can take you out whenever he pleases."

Emma's mouth dropped. She knew Carl suspected she wasn't going to leave him. But she was not prepared to leave Will either.

"C-Carl, please. Please don't. We, we can work around this issue. I'll be more respectful to the fact that you're uncomf—"

"Me. Or him."

Suddenly, his hand was around her shoulder tightly, and she knew it would bruise, "Carl! You're...that hurts!"

"Me. Or him. Last chance to chose. Before you regret it."

Emma choked on a sob and bowed her head in submission. "I-I don't want...I-I..."

His hand released from her upper arm and he let her relax slightly. "Your relationship with Will Schuester, from here on out, is strictly professional. Do you understand?"

"I-I...yes."

"No more coffee shops. No more 'helping him out.' No more surprise visits. I want him out of your life._ I_ am the only man in your life, Emma. It's high time you started to recognize that."

* * *

She wasn't sure what had gone so wrong.

July, after the incident at his home, had gone smoothly. He hadn't kept a vice grip around her, hadn't forced himself onto her body or attempted to remove her clothes.

He hadn't even scared her.

But once the her first day back to school had finished and she'd been escorted to her car by the man who claimed to love her, Emma found herself trapped in his world.

He called every hour she was at work.

His fingers curled around her upper arm whenever he was near.

He reminded her on a daily basis that she was his, that no one else could come near her in the way that he did.

His hands roamed where no man's hands had roamed before.

Emma hoped at least the phone calls would be lighten up as school started, as Carl knew she had students to meet with and countless transcripts to send.

But they hadn't.

He called four times before lunch, the entire length of her eating period, and three times after until she called him from her condo as he commanded she do so.

Carl was at her house from the moment he was done with work until she was heading to bed on week nights, and spent all of saturday and sunday dragging her from event to event, or trapping her beneath fierce kisses and forced touches.

It had only been two weeks, but as friday afternoon rolled around, Emma was already mentally checking out for the school year.

She had no ambition or motivation. She hadn't seen Will since their faculty meeting three days previous, and their conversation had been cut short by the bell.

He was busy preparing for the concert that would be held that evening, but apparently not busy enough to miss giving her a personal invitation.

"Em!" Will stepped into her office as she was preparing to leave. "You're coming tonight, right? The kids sound so good and—"

Her eyes fell and she blinked softly. "I-I don't think that...I...Carl doesn't really...want to...um...I...no."

"Well, he doesn't have to come if he doesn't want to," Will offered, "Em, I mean...you haven't seen them since last November and—"

"Will." She softly spoke his name, "I can't. I really, really can't."

He sat down and pressed his lips together. "What's going on? Every time I bring him up, you shut down on me. You shouldn't be upset when you're talking about—"

"You know what, Will? It's not your place to worry about my relationship. If memory serves, you're not exactly the expert on the subject."

He bit his lip but nodded. "I...sorry, Emma. I'll see you Monday, then."

As he left, Emma felt her chin quiver and struggled to contain her tears as she made her way to her Volvo.

"Carl?" She called upon entering her home. "Can we please go somewhere tonight?"

"Babe, we're staying in. I told you that at lunch."

Emma sighed, "I-I know. But...I—"

"We're not going to that fucking concert."

"E-excuse me?" Emma gasped into the phone as he swore, completely unnecessarily . "What...How did you even—"

"My partner's daughter is in the Glee club. We're not going to Schuester's homo-spectacular. We're staying in."

He hung up and Emma glared at the screen on her phone before huffing and throwing herself into cleaning before he came over.

At six-thirty sharp, he arrived, still wearing his swanky work polo and pants. Naturally, he let himself in and sank right into the couch, waiting for her to join them.

She breathed deeply, not caring that she was still in sweat pants and a McKinley High staff shirt, smelled like lysol and had her hair tied back.

"Come here." He opened his arms wide and beckoned her to lay with him.

Obliging, Emma climbed into his lap and nuzzled into his neck, craving some positive attention from him.

He responded by kissing the top of her head and stroking her ponytail.

While she was frustrated with Carl's actions and attitude towards her, Emma relished the moments they spent together in the quiet, where she could forget his fierce grips and controlling nature and loose herself in the prospect of spending forever with him, if only for the brief periods of time when he actually seemed to care.

Brief being the key word in the description of said time, Carl quickly moved his hands up her shirt and his legs over hers, pressing her roughly into the couch and dominating the situation with his lips and hands.

"Your bedroom," He muttered, standing and lifting her.

Emma shook her head and tried to push back, but to no avail as he stepped into her personal space and led her to the bed.

"Carl, no. I'm not ready. You...you said you wanted me to give this to you."

"You're going to give it to me," He rumbled into her ear, nipping her sensitive flesh.

But Emma remained persistent. Finding the courage that had said refused the action over the summer, she rolled to the side and brought her legs to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. "No, Carl! You're going to take it from me! And...and I'm not going to let you!"

* * *

_This chapter was written for __**headswedance**__, thank you for your wonderful, fearless personality and being such a sweetheart. _

I apologize immensely for the lack of update when promised. To those of you who sent me a PM wishing me luck after reading my profile note, thank you kindly. Your words were taken to heart!

And again, thank you all for the outpouring of support for this piece! I've never seen so many reviews in the first two chapters of anything I've written in the past! It's been amazing and so encouraging! A new chapter is underway.

Your feedback on this is appreciated.


	4. Part IV

Carl was on top of her before she had the chance to fully wrap herself into a cocoon for protection.

"Carl!" Emma cried while his hands made quick work of her shirt, leaving her only in a pale blue bra. "Carl, stop! Please, stop!" I don't want to do this now!"

He kissed along her collar bone while his fingers wound their way to claps along her spine. "Babe, relax. It's going to feel good, I promise. You'll like this."

Emma felt her chest tighten as the fabric was pulled away from her body against her will. "Please, C-Carl, stop!"

"Emma, Emma," His lips descended along her sternum and were about to take one of her round, pink buds between them when she suddenly gasped and sat up, panting hard, trying desperately to catch her breath.

Carl raised a brow and pulled away from her body. "Calm down, babe..." He stroked her bare arm, as if it would help, but Emma's breathing rate continued to increase. "Oh, shit...you...are you hyperventilating, Emma?"

If she wasn't so panicked, Emma would have glared at him, but she knew she needed Carl to talk her down from the attack.

"Okay, um...relax, relax...breathe with me, baby. In and out, that's good...come on."

His words flooded her ears and she focused on bringing her anxiety to a normal level, although to alleviate the situation completely, Carl would need to leave the room.

"There we go, you're doing great."

He was behind her, with her back pressed against his chest and arms wrapped below her breasts, hands on her stomach while he kissed her neck and whispered further encouragement in her ear.

"Baby, keep breathing..."

His presence was still alarming, but he wasn't not touching her uncomfortably anymore, so Emma finally relaxed and he smirked, she could hear it in his voice.

"Now, shall we continue this another time?"

Emma shook her head, neither a yes or a no, just a movement as she felt sleep overcome her.

She stirred sleepily in the morning when she woke, a headache throbbing behind her eyes. As she moved against the sheets, she was surprised to feel them so smoothly on her skin, when she realized —

Panicking, Emma tried desperately to replay the events of the night previous in her mind. The only thought at the front of her mind was that Carl had taken what she hadn't wanted to give him...but...he probably wouldn't have stuck around. And if the sprawled out, shirtless man next to her was really that low, Emma was sure he'd be on a private jet to somewhere to hide from her wrath.

Not that she had any.

"Emma," He groaned, turning over, making an attempt to pull her nude upper torso towards his.

Quickly, while he was still in a groggy state, Emma sprang out of bed and pulled the sweater she'd had on the day before over her frame and made haste to the bathroom, in hopes that her memory wasn't failing and nothing had actually happened the night previous.

"Where are you going?" He curled his hand around her wrist as she made her way to the shower, sliding out of the bed and lazily running his hands up and down her body — as if the action hadn't made her nearly have a mental breakdown the night before.

"C-Carl, I need a shower."

"Mm, baby, how about you go cook us up some breakfast?"

Shaking her head, Emma stepped into the cool, tile room. "After, please, I _need_ to do this."

"How about I join you and—?"

"Carl!" She nearly shouted, but remembered the last time she yelled at him when he wanted 'intimacy.' Using the reasonable voice she often did with students, Emma continued her request to be left alone, "I'll make you something when I am done. This is _my_ time by myself, and I told you that before."

He rolled his eyes and tossed himself lazily back into her bed. "Fine, babe. We're going shopping today."

Emma let her lids fall shut and her long eyelashes tickled her cheekbone. "Okay."

Once she had spent over forty minutes in the bathroom, she returned to find Carl still in bed while she rummaged for something to wear.

"Um, can you please excuse me while I get dressed?"

"I could help you," Carl offered, standing and wrapping his arms around her towel-clad frame and sucking at her neck, which made her feel the half-hour shower she'd just taken was pointless.

"Please?" How many more times would she have to request him to leave her body alone for the morning?

"God, you're so sensitive, Emma." He relented, though and turned to the kitchen, leaving Emma to sigh heavily and take her time getting dressed.

When she finished primping for the day, a process which had left Carl catching sports highlights for almost an hour in the living room, Emma finally met his eyes, her hands twisting the edges of her mint-green cardigan. "Um, what...what would you like to eat?"

His dark eyes met hers, and rather than order her into the kitchen, Carl motioned of her to come to him.

While she would have rather been his personal servant than play-toy, Emma joined him on the couch, where he pulled her into his arms and simply held her for the better part of an hour, fingers winding through her freshly-styled hair and rubbing her back above her sweater.

Utterly confused by his actions, as one moment he seemed prepared to take everything away from her, and the next he seemed ready to hold her until she slept quietly, Emma pulled up and searched his face for signs of an ulterior motive.

"Emma, what is it?"

She shook her head and laid it back on his chest. "Nothing."

He kissed the top of her head and shifted them so he was spooning her. "I think you should move in with me."

Emma wasn't fully listening, so when he laid the request on her, she didn't grasp what he said. "E-excuse me?"

His lips traced her neck. "I say you dump the condo and come move in with me. I'll let you do whatever you want to redecorate, and I'll get you a new car and—"

"C-Carl, I really don't think I'm ready for that yet."

Frustration starting to loom between them after her statement, Carl sat up, pulling her with him. "Why aren't you ready? What is wrong with you, Emma? It doesn't take normal people this long to enter a real relationship!"

"Is...is what we have a real relationship?" Emma asked without thinking the question through, immediately regretting her words.

"What the hell do you mean?" Carl growled, "Of course it's a real relationship! Damnit, Emma!"

Finally saying what had been on her mind since June, Emma let words roll off her tongue she hadn't planned on saying. "Carl, you're right, I haven't been in many successful relationships. I don't know the usual pattern of what love looks like, but...this just doesn't feel like love to me. And I don't want to hurt your feelings, but...I don't know how much longer I can keep doing this."

He shook his head. "I can't believe you would insinuate that I don't love you. After everything I've done for you since I started seeing your crazy ass in May?"

Emma blinked back tears and stood, pacing to the kitchen. "Carl, I am going to ask you to leave."

"Why, so you can call your friend Schuester to come over here and comfort you?"

"Maybe I will!" She shirked, stamping her foot in emphasis with wide, angry eyes. "You certainly don't care enough to take care of me when I'm upset! You just _grab_ me and make me feel terrible about myself!"

He took three large steps until he towered over her in the kitchen, and it took all of Emma's strength not to let her guard down. "You listen to me. You are dating me. You belong to me. You do what I tell you to, you go where I tell you to go, and you let me do what I please with you. I am not letting you out of this relationship."

Realizing he'd backed her into the counter, Emma bit her lip. "You can't do this. You can't."

"And what are you going to do about it? Because you know that anything you do..." His hand gripped her upper arm and squeezed until it felt bone, forcing Emma down to her knees before him in pain. "Anything you do, you are only going to regret. You're not going to tell me what to do. And you're not going to run to Schuester. You are mine and that is not going to change. Now," He cleared his throat and lifted her into his arms, carrying her trembling frame back to her bed. "Take off your shirt and we'll start back where we did last night."

"No!" Emma shouted, sprinting from the bedroom and locking herself in her sanctuary, chest heaving against the bathroom door as she contemplated what she could have possibly done to deserve being treated in the manner she was.

"Emma!"

"I'm not going to let you violate me!" She cried weakly, letting tears land on the clean tile below her feet.

* * *

It was three hours before Emma gave up and left the bathroom. She gave in to the concept that Carl was not going to leave her alone. But that didn't mean she was going to give him what he wanted.

"Emma, come here."

"Carl, I am not letting you touch me the way you want to," She spat, meeting his eyes as he sat at her counter. "You can insult me, trespass my home, grab me...but you are _not_ going to _assault_ me."

He raised a cocky brow. "Do you even here yourself? Do you have any clue how desperate you sound?"

"I don't care!" Emma moved swiftly to locate something edible in her kitchen. "I don't even care. I'm not letting you get what you want from me. If you're not going to give me what I want by leaving me alone, I'm not going to give you what you want by sacrificing my body to you."

Finding nothing suitable, Emma moved to her bedroom with her laptop and started a few miscellaneous projects for work that didn't really need to be done.

"I'm going for the day," Carl said suddenly an hour later. "I'll be back tomorrow afternoon. You better have an attitude adjustment by then."

When the front door slammed shut and the sounds of Carl's tires squealing against the pavement as he refused to brake at a four way stop met Emma's ears, she closed her computer and placed her head in her hands.

Standing up to him was clearly pointless. He'd only hurt her worse. Leaving him wasn't an option, he'd made that clear.

Letting more tears escape, Emma cried loudly, feeling sorry for herself, and angry for letting the situation escalade to the point it was at.

* * *

Will found her hiding from him during their lunch hour on Thursday of the following week. They hadn't spoke since the week prior when he invited her to the Glee concert.

"I know I ask you this, like...once a week, but Emma, are you alright? You look really, really pale. And I'm not saying you look bad, but you look like you've lost weight, and it's not like there was much there to begin with."

Emma bit her lip, not speaking as he moved around her desk to take a better look at her.

"You know that I worry about you?" He asked, running a hand along the smooth arm of her chair. "You've been so different the past few months. I can't help but wonder if you're okay."

She sighed, meeting his eyes. "Will, I-I'm fine. I promise."

"But you're not, Em!" He tilted his head and stared at her boney fingers. "You're my best friend. I have that sense that you're just not...alright. You've been so...detached, since we got back from summer vacation. I just miss my best friend...The girl I used to be able to come in here and dump all my problems on, who always had the best solutions, and who wasn't afraid of being herself around me...now...now, it's like I hardly know you."

Emma's breath caught in her throat. "W-Will, I'm...I'm still me, it's just...Things are different between us, now. And...I think...It's just been a rough couple of months and..."

Will interrupted her babble, "I'm not trying to insinuate anything, Em, but...it's been a rough couple of months since you started dating Carl. You're a totally different person with him. You're sad, and removed from the rest of the people who care about you. Being in a relationship with someone you really care about should have you singing in joy every time you think about it, not drowning in sorrow. I just...I don't understand."

"No, you don't." She cleared her throat. "Will, you don't understand, and I'd like it if we changed subjects."

He sighed. "Okay, on one condition."

Emma raised a brow and leaned back to meet his face. "And what's that, exactly?"

"Come to Glee this afternoon. We're really rocking out, and I'm determined to put a smile on your face."

At his reason, Emma's lips did turn up slightly — and it was Thursday, so Carl wouldn't be waiting for her at home when she arrived. "Okay. I'll come."

Will gave a little fist pump and brushed a hand across her shoulders before making sure he kept their conversation alive for the first time in a month while she laughed and picked at her lunch.

As three in the afternoon rolled it's way around, Emma found herself sitting on a stool in the choir room, near an empty one by the piano.

She observed the group of teenagers talking excitedly amongst themselves, a question popping into her head as she didn't realize one of the exchange students she'd helped prepare for the school year had joined the club.

Will entered not a minute later, and the musicians immediately quieted down. "Afternoon, guys...today, we're going to go through last Friday's performance again, and then maybe learn something new. We'll start with _Sweet Child of Mine_...Take it away!"

Emma smiled as the opening chords were played expertly by Artie and the group filed into their positions to start. Will slipped into the open stool next to her and sent her a knowing smile while his kids performed.

"Awesome, guys!" Will cheered and Emma clapped as Mercedes burst out the final line of the song. "That may have been even better than last week!"

Rachel beamed at the pair of educators on the stools. "I think we do better when we're singing for the people we really care about. We've missed having you at our practices this year, Miss Pillsbury."

She felt a flush overwhelm her pale face. "Well, I've missed being here."

They continued with a popular Pink song that had Emma once more, reflecting on her relationship with Will rather than Carl.

The group closed with a jazz number that Emma hadn't remembered hearing before, but found herself enjoying as she clapped ecstatically when it was through.

Will spoke to them for a few minutes and passed out the sheet music to a song that was just for fun. "Now, this was basically the anthem for every college student in America a number of years ago, and I'm sure most of you already know the words—"

"We've got this, Mr. Schue." Finn grinned and the club took off a silly rendition of _Fat Lip_. that had both Will and Emma nearly laughing off their stools at their improve dancing.

After dismissing the group for the afternoon, Will took Emma's hand to assist her from the stool. "What did you think?"

"I think you're going to win Regionals this year." Emma beamed, her complexion having gone from ghostly pale to glowing with joy in the course of an hour. "I really enjoyed that. Thanks for inviting me."

Will walked Emma to her office, where he opened the door and followed her in while she gathered her things. "Would you like to join us to see Vocal Adrenaline's invitational on Saturday? Like last year? I could bring the PB&J this time."

She let out a small giggle but sighed when she realized joining Will anywhere was not an option while she was with Carl. "Oh, I um...I don't think I can. I'd love to, but I think Carl...we...probably have something to do, and...well..."

Will sighed and tilted her chin up to meet his face. "Emma, what is going on?"

She shook her head, not wanting to ruin the first good mood she had been in since the last time she'd spent an hour with Will. "I've got to get going. Thank you, really. But, um...I can't."

He offered to carry her bag to the parking lot, and in a last stitch effort to spend as much time around him as possible that Carl wouldn't be suspicious of, Emma let him.

"Can I give you some advice, Emma?" Will asked as he opened her door.

"I suppose." She shrugged, having a feeling she knew what he'd say.

Will sighed and leaned in to her. "Let yourself be happy. Don't do something because someone else wants you to."

Emma nodded and met his eyes sincerely. "I'm trying."

After nine-thirty, Emma's good mood hadn't dissipated. It was as if Will were contagious; every time she was around him, her troubles with Carl faded into the background.

Until he would show up unannounced.

"What the hell are you so happy about?" He asked grumpily from his end of the couch while Emma typed a letter of recommendation for a senior.

"Do I need a reason to be happy?" Emma snapped, eyes dark. "You should try it sometime."

He was on his feet and in a matter of seconds, her laptop lay forgotten on the cushion and her shoulders were held in place firmly by his hands. "Do not talk to me like that."

"Don't tell me what to do!"

Since their confrontation on Saturday, Emma had been retorting and standing up for herself, hoping that if she continued refusing to submit to Carl, he would leave her alone of his own wishes, rather than hers.

"I know you were with Schuester again," He hissed, pulling her up. "Just what exactly does he have that makes you so _fucking_ happy, hm?"

"He doesn't treat me like you do!" Emma cried, feeling her strong side crumble as he once again seemed to know her every move. It was hard to be self-assured when she was fearing for her life and limb.

She felt her body being backed into the hallway wall.

With as much force as he'd used in their twisted relationship yet, Carl shoved her against the light-green drywall, earning a yelp as her spine smacked against the hard surface. "You listen to me, and you listen good, because if I have to tell you again, you're going to regret it like you've never regretted anything in your useless, pathetic life. You belong to me. You do what I say."

"Let me go!" Emma struggled in his grasp, but when his knee parted her legs and his hips began grinding into hers, she knew there was no way out.

"You belong to me. I want to hear you say it."

Instead, she cried out to be released one more time before his hand landed across her face with a searing pressure, leaving a stinging, red handprint on her cheek, causing Emma to gasp and tears to flow evenly down her face while Carl dropped her to the floor and followed suit, pinning her there with her arms above her head.

"I want to hear you say it."

Still, she refused, shaking her head, earning Carl's hand to the same spot.

"Say it, damnit!"

"I-I-" She stuttered, sobbing and shaking, "I b-belong...t-to you!"

"There we go." He smirked and stroked the place he'd defiled, "See? That wasn't so difficult, now was it?"

He got up, leaving her crying on the floor. "I'll see you tomorrow."

* * *

Emma felt dirty the following morning as she caked on a second layer of foundation to attempt to hide the ugly, purple bruise that had formed on her cheek.

Someone was bound to notice.

With a heavy heart, Emma sniffed up tears that threatened to leak while she drove into school, prepared for a long day of strange looks, avoiding Will, and dreading a night filled with uncertainty that she'd rather not think about.

* * *

Sue Sylvester noticed there had been something off about the bug-eyed guidance counselor since the little-orphan-wannabe had set foot into McKinley High for the school year.

The younger woman seemed to mock the cheerleading coach, with her seemingly flawless, youthful skin; the crazy outfits that appeared to have been bought in 1953, which she somehow made look amazing. And there was that fiery, luscious, well-kept hair.

While she would never admit it, Sue Sylvester envied Emma Pillsbury.

Just not recently.

Her usual perky — annoying — glow hadn't returned when she did from summer break. The springs that were somehow embedded into the heels of the redhead's shoes had broken, leaving her former head-held-a-mile-high strut a dragged shuffle. And most noticeable of all, her color palette had darkened with her mood.

Without the insane — yet fashionable — outfits, the obnoxious, upbeat persona and the fact she never left her office long enough to clean an area, Sue had seemingly missed any opportunity to mock Emma.

But when she saw the mentally crippled woman keeping her head down on the way to her office, Sue was fairly confident that a scathing comment would shatter any spirit Emma Pillsbury had left.

With a the grace of a leopardess, Sue observed the weary, anxiety-ridden female's face from behind the blinds of the glass walls of her office.

At first, she glanced over it, but upon further inspection, the nationally acclaimed coach made note of a purplish hue along the jaw line of the guidance counselor.

Squinting, Sue turned abruptly on in her Nikes, filled with a sudden rage.

After screaming at several male students to keep their 'filthy, ejaculate-covered hands' off her Cheerios, Sue slammed her office door shut and flicked on her desk lamp to pen her latest discovery.

_This morning, in the early autumn sun that flooded the halls of McKinley High, I noticed the demeanor of a woman who used to radiate positivity and hope, has all but shattered and broken._

_And the cause of this crippled state? Surely, a man._

_It isn't surprising, journal, that anyone would take advantage of such a woman. I have previously discovered that Emma Pillsbury hardly holds a shred of confidence and needs to be completely wound up before she would find the courage to defend herself. _

_I have gone out of my way to see to it that this woman finds her inner bitch before, and I'm bound to do it again. Why should I care about this particular case, journal?_

_Because no man treats a woman — any woman — like a piece of filth. No woman should ever subject herself to the abuse and superiority man tries to hold over them; as if they're nothing but property._

_I'm going to find this pathetic excuse of a human being, and I'm going to give him a taste of what a woman with a backbone can really do._

* * *

Emma started the following week with a note taped to her door in Will's chicken scratch:

_Em, I need to see your smiling face. Please join me for lunch today? You haven't shared your cookies with me yet this year. I miss you. - Will_

With a dramatic sigh, Emma smiled and held the simple note close to her heart.

Of all the things in her life that should have brought her joy, the messy piece of loose-leaf paper was the only happiness she'd seen since joining the Glee club at their practice — before she'd lost her dignity — the week before.

She sent Will a quick text message, assuring him he'd see her there.

Receiving as many smiley faces that would fit into one hundred-sixty characters, Emma found herself looking forward to lunch.

"Hey!" Will sprung from his seat upon seeing her face in the teacher's lounge, earning a giggle. "I have so much to tell you!"

Emma scooted a chair in and quickly wiped down her spot before unpacking her lunch. "Do share," She encouraged him, meeting his excited eyes.

He wanted to build the suspense, but Will couldn't contain himself any longer. "Vocal Adrenaline has nothing. They lost their coach and their choreographer. I'd be surprised if they even win their Sectional!"

Emma smiled brightly. "I'm sure it sounds awful, but that's great! And after seeing your kids perform last week, I'm sure you're going to win. You've got my vote anyway. Of course, you've always had it."

"I know...which is why...I was wondering if, and you can say no, okay?" She nodded, leaning forward to hear his proposition. "I was wondering if you'd like to co-direct with me? I mean, you've always been there for us when we needed you, the kids trust you and you've helped me pick out songs and costumes, so I was hoping, we could make it official?"

Emma's smile lit up her eyes and her hand met her heart as she stared at him, head tilted slightly in awe that he valued her help as much as he did.

"What's going on here?"

The smile was wiped off Emma's face in a matter of seconds as she heard Carl's voice from the doorway. He took two large steps to be at their table and Emma blinked rapidly. "C-Carl, what are, um...what are you doing, here? D-during the day?"

Will watched as Emma's personality had faded from pure joy to total distress so quickly, and wondered how one man could change that the way he did. "I just came to check up on you," He said in a way that made Will cringe. "See how your day is going?"

Emma was suddenly transformed into a completely different person.

"Um...Maybe...Maybe we should...g-go to my-my office."

Will felt the need to step in. "I don't mind, Em. Nice to see you again, Carl." He cleared his throat and received only a grunt and a glare from the dentist.

"Her name is Emma," He stated firmly, watching as Emma continued to shrink behind a veil of hair.

Will blinked and turned to Emma. "Are you uncomfortable? I can go—"

"No, no, we'll go. Thanks, um...for what you said earlier." She didn't want to be too specific, knowing Carl's reaction to Will's request of co-director would be less than pleasant.

The curly haired Spanish teacher sighed as Emma started retreating to her office. "It was nice talking to you, _Em_," He emphasized the nickname. "I'll see you later."

Carl followed her out the door and they walked in an awkward silence until they reached her office, where he promptly shut the door.

"I honestly don't know how you can be so _fucking_ stupid," He growled, taking her arms and shoving her against the wall near her glass door.

"Carl, please, I'm at work! We can discuss this later—"

"There is nothing to discuss!" His grip intensified and she cringed, eyes squinted shut. "I can't even count the amount of times I have told you to stay away from him!"

Suddenly, a rapping at Emma's office door had her eyes flying open and Carl's hands releasing her with a speed he'd never let go before.

"Hey, Eliza." Sue Sylvester stepped into the room, eyeing the dentist who had suddenly wrapped one of his arms around her waist and the other around her shoulder, earning a strange glance from the redhead.

"S-Sue, what, um, c-can I do for you?" She stuttered, finally meeting the intimidating woman's gaze.

"I just need to check on my Cheerio's test scores. I can't have them getting too far behind, what kind of example would that be?"

Carl rolled his eyes and placed a tender kiss to Emma's temple and assured her that he'd be seeing her that night.

As she left, Emma stared hard at the floor, ashamed of herself and the circumstances Sue had walked in on. She mentally pleaded that the blonde woman would say nothing.

Sue simply shook her head when Carl was completely out of sight. "You are truly pathetic."

Emma bit her lip and continued to keep her face downcast.

"I thought that we worked on making you a more confident woman...but letting a man physically walk all over you...You're more ill than I thought you were."

She took a composing breath and tried to contain a bought of tears, but a lonely one trailed down her cheek anyway.

Sue shook her head again, but this time took a step forward and shared a small moment with Emma, placing her hand on the shorter woman's shoulder in an understanding gesture.

In that moment, Emma's eyes were opened for perhaps the first time since the whole ordeal began.

Perhaps she wasn't as alone and trapped as she made herself out to be.

* * *

_This chapter is dedicated to __**tenseconds **because she knows 'why they call it window pane.'_

Sorry for the torture. No worries, Will's going to be stepping up soon. It's horrible to read, I know. I want him to jump on it, too!

But I really just love this fic. It's so easy to write. What are your thoughts on Sue's involvement? I'm not about to play nice!Sue, but I want her in the picture, for later.

Thanks for all the marvelous feedback! I appreciate it more than I can express. I'm convinced you are the best readers on this site!


	5. Part V

Two weeks passed.

Emma had bruises on her upper arms from the constant pulling and pushing, and occasionally found fingerprints around a wrist from a forceful pinning against furniture or the wall. Sometimes, a mark was left across her face or throat from where Carl decided to hit or slug her.

But, it was manageable, just like every other part of her crazy life.

Full-length sleeved sweaters covered her arms, bracelets for her wrists, makeup for her face and a bib-necklace or turtleneck for her throat.

It was all so twisted and wrong, but she wasn't sure who she could turn to, or what she could do to help the situation.

That was until Wednesday night, when she tuned in to the local news in a pair of comfortable pajamas and a steaming mug of tea.

"...Take it away, Sue." Rod had nodded to the cheerleading coach at her desk, where a headline caught Emma's eye.

"Thanks, Rod...you know, usually I talk about something strange and scandalous up here, but tonight, I'm going to really reach out to the lonely audience watching from the caves of horror they live in.

"Domestic violence is an ever growing problem here in America—"

Emma gasped as Sue seemed to burn a hole through her body with her eyes.

"—And I don't care if you're newly in a relationship with a pig-headed bastard or you're fresh off the cutting board, and have been cut fresh on that board. There is no reason to sit idly by and take the abuse.

"And on that note, those surrounding the victim of said abuse should be looking for signs. While they linger beneath the surface, once one small flame lights up, the rest can be spotted from space."

"Oh, god," Emma sighed, placing a hand on either of her cheeks in attempt to convince herself this wasn't happening, and in a prayer that Carl wasn't watching.

"It never fails amazes me, that even in this age of gender equality, that a man deems a woman below him. He'll order her around, control her, and when it escalades, physical violence that is not far from assault is involved."

Willing her tears to stay back, Emma breathed in deeply while Sue continued. "...And the woman may feel so suffocated, she could actually start blaming herself..."

With that statement, Emma looked from her trembling hands and back at Sue, closing her eyes and pleading with the cheerleading coach to stop talking.

"...And if you're really her friend, you'll see the pain she's in. You'll look beneath the makeup and lies to see that she's truly hurting. You'll confront the pig she's with and you'll rescue her, just as you've always wanted to do. You won't abandon her to her loneliness. And that's the way Sue C's it."

Promptly turning the television off, Emma curled up at the end of the couch, her large brown orbs not focusing on anything in particular.

She wasn't sure who Sue's call to action was meant for at the end, but the one image that popped into her mind, the one person who could save her from the desperate state she clung to, was the person she spent the past two weeks ignoring.

The following morning found Emma in her office, moving sloth-like through her pre-school routine. She was on her third cup of coffee already, and just couldn't seem to get moving.

"Emma!"

She winced at Will's voice as he hurried into her office. "Hi," She returned his greeting softly.

"Em, can we—"

Distracted, Emma tilted just an inch in the wrong direction and end up sloshing coffee on her sweater. Gasping at the heat, Emma made quick work of loosening the buttons and was about to shrug the cardigan from her shoulders, when a pain in one that made her wince had her reconsidering removing the material.

"Are you alright?" Will raised a brow as her eyes met his like deer trapped in headlights. "Do you...need help, or something?"

"Um..." Her mind worked to try and find a way to explain the bruises on her upper arms that he would likely see.

"Emma? Seriously, take it off, you're going to get burned!"

She shook her head and in a swift move, tore the clothing from her body — thankful she'd put a tank top on underneath in the morning — and hurried to her cabinet near the door where she kept a spare for the rare occasion like this.

Will was studying her and she knew it, and the moment before a black sweater could cover a faded, greenish imprint on her shoulder, Will's hand gently grasped her lower arm and his eyes met hers.

"Emma," He whispered, pulling the fabric down as slowly as he could, causing Emma to swallow hard and keep her eyes locked on his face, searching for the emotions fueling his suspicion. "What is this?"

She cleared her throat and set her expression as sternly as she could, trying to convince herself of a lie to make it more believable to the curly haired Spanish teacher before her. "I ran into the wall, last week...when, when I was cleaning."

He closed his eyes and moved to her other side, where an impression of the exact same type was located. "And...what about this?"

"Um, I-I don't remember."

"Like hell you don't," He said softly, opening his hand above the wound, making Emma flinch and squint, expecting pain. "It appears to be the size of a hand." He swallowed and barely brushing the skin, curled his fingers around her arm. "A man's hand."

Emma's breathing became shallow, but she stayed strong. "I-It's nothing. I have to...I have to change. I have to get ready for the day."

"Emma, I'm not going to let this go." His voice was low, but not in the frightening way Carl's so often was, "This is serious. Is Carl hurting you?"

"I have to get ready!" She nearly hollered, "Will, please, leave me alone."

Silently and gently, Will pulled the sweater over her shoulders the rest of the way, earning a gasp.

"Will," Emma stiffened as she hissed his name, feeling tears well in her eyes.

He didn't release her sweater, but gently wound one arm around her chest, barely touching her body. "Emma, I don't know what's going on...but know that you aren't alone. I-I've been so...passive, the past five months...but, you know that I love you." She sucked in a breath and felt his forehead rest on the back of her head as he whispered, "I love you too much to walk away." She melted into him, for the briefest of moments. "And I won't walk away, not ever...but Emma, please...don't push me out, either."

"I need to get ready," She whispered, tugging away from him and returning behind her desk.

"Emma," Will shook his head, sighing her name and refusing to give in. "Please, please talk to me." She didn't look up and he bit his lip. "Okay, look. Emma, I'll be back, alright? Just...take it easy, okay?"

At her unresponsive state, Will left the office, shaking his head and heading straight to the office of the woman who put the ideas into his head in the first place.

Thankful, for once, that Sue seemed to have a sense as to what was going on, Will knocked twice, and the cheerleading coach looked up, took off her glasses and nodded to the chair, likely expecting him.

"Take a seat, William."

He rubbed his hands against his jeans, hoping she'd start so he didn't have to explain why he was there.

"I assume you have spoken to our guidance counselor this morning?" She smirked.

"Yeah, um...Sue, I'm just going to come out with it — I know you know what's happening. Why haven't you knocked this guy's teeth out?"

"One," She said arrogantly, straightening a pen on her desk and reached for her protein shake, "He's a dentist, so I'm assuming it would be no trouble to have them fixed, thus I'd start somewhere a bit more...permanent." Will suddenly experienced sympathy pain in his pants for whatever poor bastard had been subjected to Sue's vengeance in the past. "And two, I can't say for certain I know what's going on, but judging by the way he was grabbing her and screaming at her two weeks ago, there's something happening in that relationship and it isn't anything close to sensual."

Will raked a hand through his curls. "She won't admit that anything is wrong."

"So what?" Sue's lip curled. "Man up and take care of the situation. Unless you like your women tattered and bruised."

His temper flared up. "How could you even insinuate that I'd, that's..." He could hardly see straight as Sue stood and moved to the front of her desk, clearly making herself the alpha in the room.

"Here's what we're going to do. You're going to make her talk. Lay your devilish charm on her, get under her skin. Make her squirm and make her spill."

Will winced. "I don't want to make her uncomfortable with me."

"You'd rather her continue being abused?"

He silenced.

"Once you've got her talking, you need to convince her to stand up for herself."

"I don't know that she will, and don't you think it could be dangerous in her situation?"

"_She_ needs to show _him_ who's in charge of her body and her life. It's not going to do her any good for you to come in there, white knight style and take him out."

"What if he hurts her?"

"We're going to be there, waiting. So that it doesn't happen."

Will stood and began pacing as he considered their plan. "Sue...Not that I don't appreciate your help,and if it weren't for your segment last night, I may have never put the pieces together...but...why are you doing this?"

Sue sat on her desk and glared, not at Will in particular, but to make her point. "Because, William. No man treats a woman, any woman, but that woman in particular the way he has been. Emma Pillsbury," He was surprised when he used her proper name without any sarcasm behind it, "Is possibly one of the most selfless individuals to ever cross my path. And just because she lacks the courage or knowledge on what to do in this situation does not mean she has to be in it."

"I..." Honestly dumbfounded that she would care about the woman who captivated his heart, Will shook his head with the briefest of smiles. "Thank you, Sue. I'm...I'm going to get her talking."

* * *

Emma avoided Will all afternoon, strategically hiding around corners, darting between hallways and locking herself in the faculty bathroom during lunch.

"Emma!" Unfortunately, he'd caught up with her just as she was prepared to leave for the day.

He was running towards her at the window he'd kissed her in front of, a little less than a year previous. She closed her eyes and stamped her foot lightly to show her annoyance. "Emma, please, I need to talk to you."

"I have nothing to talk about!" She commanded, her voice unwavering as he expected it too.

With as much non-threatening authority as Will could establish, he placed a hand on her lower back and guided Emma towards his office. "We're going to talk."

She twisted away sharply, eyes filled with questions and hurt. "Why are you doing this? You can't control me!"

In a sudden moment of losing it, Will snapped, "Why can't you exert that kind of attitude when you're with Carl?"

"Because I can't!" She retorted, then quickly covered her mouth.

Will's hand found its way to her back once more. "We need to talk."

Emma blinked tears as he opened the door and ushered her in, as if she were in trouble.

"Will, there's nothing to say!"

"How did you get the bruises, Emma?"

"I already told you!" She refused the seat he offered her, her voice high pitched and bordering on hysterical. "Will, I really don't want to talk to you right now!"

Without warning, his hands reached out and cupped her face, and on instinct, she pulled away and grasped her tender jaw. "Why did you do that?" Tears shimmered on the edges of her lashes while she collapsed into a chair.

"I wasn't trying to hurt you," Will whispered, kneeling in front of Emma and taking her hands from her lap. "I...I need you to listen to me. I need you to understand just how much I care about you. How I'd do anything for you. How I'm willing to take any risk for you. Do you know that? Do you know how much you mean to me, how much I love you?"

Emma let the tears fall onto their clasped hands and nodded, keeping his gaze.

"I-I don't know where to start."

Will brushed his thumb over hers. "From the beginning."

She closed her eyes and turned away from him. "It's kind of embarrassing."

"Hey, hey," Will's voice was gentler than she'd ever heard as he stroked her arm above the wrist softly, "Emma, I'm not judging you. Have I ever?"

"No," She mumbled and squeezed his hand, which he responded to with a squeeze of his own. Thankful that it was Thursday and Carl wouldn't be waiting for her at home, Emma sighed and shook lightly. "It...was going pretty good, pretty great, in the beginning...but...at some point, he...he snapped and became another person...now, it's bad...no," She sucked in a deep breath before admitting, "It's awful." With a long pause to muster the courage to say her secret out loud, the redhead finally cleared her throat and announced, "He hurts me, Will."

"What...what prompts him to?" He struggled to understand what the innocent woman before him could possibly do that would justify hurting her, in the twisted dentist's mind.

Emma flushed. "It's...a lot of times, it's because I won't...you know..."

"Because you won't...sleep with him?"

She ducked her head and felt her shoulders shake. "I-I'm pathetic...I just...I can't...I'm not ready, and—"

Will's arms were around her shaking frame, mindful of her sensitive bruises, instantly. "Do _not_ blame yourself for this."

"But if I weren't such a mental case—"

"Sh, sh, sh," He soothed, rocking her gently from his awkward place in front of her. "Emma, don't talk like that. You aren't ready, that's fine. There is nothing wrong with that. And if he isn't willing to accept that, shame on him. He doesn't deserve to have you in that way."

Clutching his sweater in her hand, Emma cried loudly while continuing to explain why Carl treated her the way he did. "And...he hurts me...because of you."

The rocking motion stilled and Will pulled back, searching her clouded eyes. "What...Em...I?"

She took a few composing breaths and shook her head. "Carl hates that you're my friend...my best friend. He...he thinks you're trying to steal me away...and...every time he found out I had seen or spent any time with you...he hurt me...he," She sobbed heavily and buried her face in her hands before trying to continue. "He made me say that, that I belong to him...he makes me say it...or he hurts me...and...He doesn't want me around you. He deleted your number from my phone, back...back in June...and..."

Giving up on forming any more coherent sentences, Emma unhid her face to observe Will's shocked features. "I-I'm sorry, Will...That's, that's why I've been avoiding you because...It...It hurts after I'm with you."

In a swift move, Will's arms were around her waist and his head rested on her chest, his own tears dampening her sweater.

"Emma," He sighed her name, tightening his hold around her. "Emma, I am so...I am so sorry. Words will never be enough to, to show you..." He shook his head and dared to meet her wet face. "I should have noticed. God, I'm—"

"Will...please, don't...I already feel bad enough, and now...now that you know," She crumpled, wrapping her arms around his neck and holding him close. "I...I don't...I don't know what to do. I can't...I can't leave him, Will. He'll...I think he'll do worse things...The grabbing and hitting...I can take it, but...if he tried to take it further—"

"Stop." His voice was strong and commanding, but not threatening as he pulled away, standing up. "Do not...You are not going to take this abuse any longer."

She parted her lips and shook her head. "Wh-what am I supposed to do? He's just going to toss me around until I give in, and—" Will moved behind her and lifted the receiver of the school's PA system. "What...what are you doing?"

He sent her a sad smile and spoke into the phone, quietly, "Come down to my office," and promptly hung up, returning to kneel before the woman who was tired of the games. "We're going to make sure that those things you're worried about don't happen, Em."

Emma blinked and bit her lip. "It-It's not going to work, Will. You don't know him. You don't...you don't know what he's capable of. He's just going to keep coming back, it'll be the same patterns and routines...and I'll be stuck living like this."

Will continued to press the issue. "No one deserves to be treated this way, Emma. I already told you, I love you too much to stand here and watch you get burned by this _asshole_ over and over."

The tears cascaded yet again, and just as she was starting to feel more pathetic than ever, Sue Sylvester invited herself into the small office.

"S-Sue?" Emma raised a brow. "Wh-what's going on?"

The cheerleading coach had her arms crossed over her chest, dominating the room, but not intimidating the smaller woman. "We're going to help you get yourself out of this mess," Will said confidently. "We're not going to let you keep getting hurt. And we're going to help you make sure this never happens again."

She sighed deeply. "Well...what's the plan?"

* * *

Emma tapped her fingers nervously against her smooth, spotless countertop, as the line she was calling rang and rang until—

"Good afternoon, Dr. Howell's office, Caroline speaking."

"Hi, um, Caroline...It's Emma Pillsbury," She greeted nervously. "Does Dr. Howell have a free minute?"

The voice on the other end sounded confused. "What do you mean? Emma, he doesn't work on Thursdays."

"Um...Okay..." The guidance counselor paused to soak up the information. "Is, um...Is that new?"

Caroline seemed frustrated, "He's never worked Thursdays, dear. Not since he opened up this practice. Dr. Jones is the head. Is that all I can do for you?"

Shaking her head even though the other woman wouldn't be able to see, Emma quickly thanked her and hung up, panicking.

Will and Sue were to leave her to compose her thoughts at home, then return when Carl would undoubtedly show up that night. She was going to ask him to come over when he was done with work, while Will and Sue parked several blocks away, walked over and hid in her room incase things got ugly, which she was sure they would, while she tried to end their relationship.

But this new knowledge was not only foiling the plan, but causing a serious concern.

He'd never worked on Thursdays.

Now she was sure he'd been following her.

Adrenaline rushing through her veins, Emma tried to remain calm to analyze the situation.

If he was following her, he would have seen her been escorted from the building by Will and receiving a warm, comforting hug from the Spanish teacher.

As she was prepared to dial Will's number to inform him of the latest developments in the situation, her front door was thrown open, revealing the man she was preparing to end her relationship with.

"C-Carl," She stuttered, eyes wide.

He didn't look her in the eye as he closed the door and made his way to where she sat on the couch.

"Drop your phone," He commanded. When she refused, he took it from her and opened the back, removed the battery and slid it into his pants pocket, then threw the rest of the device on the plush carpet.

"C-Carl..." She sucked up her nervousness and decided to stand up for herself. Feigning confidence, she carried on. "I'm glad you're here. I have a few things I'd like to say—"

"Shut up," Carl demanded, crossing his arms over his chest and growling down at her. "Don't say another word."

Emma shook her head. "No! This is my house! I'll do what I—Ugh!" Carl's hand made contact with her sore cheek, causing her to wince, but not back down as she stood. While she was almost a foot shorter than the dentist, Emma was prepared to give him a piece of her mind. "Go ahead, keep hitting me! Take my body and twist it to pieces. I don't care, you can have it."

His hands curled into fists and one of them collided with her stomach, forcing her to double over as the wind was knocked out of her.

Yet, despite her physical weakness, Emma remained strong. With smirk, she closed one eye to concentrate on her words, rather than her pain. "Because you may think that you own my body, so go ahead and think that. Because there is one thing," She breathed deeply, pressing a palm into the carpet for support to keep sitting. "There is one thing that you'll never have, that you'll never own. And that's my heart."

With this, Carl lifted her up by the same bruised shoulders that he always did. "Oh yeah? Because that belongs to Will Schuester, right?"

"That's right," Emma chided, cringing in his hold.

His hand met her other cheek and she cried out for half a second in pain as the metal of his ring met her flesh, but still, she remained persistent.

"When I'm through with you," Carl's voice rumbled so lowly it was almost a primitive hiss, "There isn't going to be anything _for_ Schuester to have."

Starting to lose her resolve, the battered woman started pleading. "Get out!" Emma shrieked as he shoved her back against the wall and stuck his knee between her thighs. She did her best to kick against him, but she was pinned. "Get out of my house, get out of my life!"

One hand was unbuttoning her sweater while the arm belonging to the other had her trapped, just below her chest. "I'm not going anywhere, babe. I'm going to take everything away from you, until your nothing more than a begging dog. I'm going to make you my bitch, and there's nothing you can do to stop me."

Feeling anxiety wash over her again, Emma yelped as his perfect teeth descended on her collar bone sharply. She prayed silently that Will would arrive and save her before Carl's actions ruined her life permanently.

* * *

"She's not picking up," Will said, pacing Sue's office. "Her phone is going straight to voicemail. That...that doesn't happen. Something's wrong. She wouldn't turn her phone off, not after earlier—"

"William, I'm only going to say this once," Sue started, standing from behind her desk and moving towards him. "I'm not doing this out love. I have my own reasons for wanting to rescue Emma that don't concern you. If this is going to work, I need you to take your unwavering declaration of love for her and put it behind you. You need to think clearly, and with the front you've got up now, your mind is clouded with emotion."

He took a deep breath and sighed. "Okay. Can we just go over there? Make sure she's holding up okay? She said Carl doesn't get off until after nine, so we can just go right there and leave once I know she's alright. But...I—"

"Get your things," Sue stated, reaching into a bag and revealing her keys. "I'll drive."

* * *

Thank you so much for reading and all your reviews! The response has been absolutely unbelievable and I can't thank you all enough for continuing to support the story!

There were tons of lyrical references in this chapter to the song the story was inspired by,_ Love the Way You Lie_ by Eminem. The download link can be found at my twitter if you want to listen to it.

Reader's choice: **Who do you want to take the first hit at Carl?** Will, as his ultimate devotion of love, or Sue, with all the strength and feminist fury of a Greek war goddess? If you chose to leave a review, please include your vote! Make this punch count!


	6. Part VI

_Warning__: some intense, descriptive abuse (no rape)_

This was not apart of the plan.

Of course, in what situation would a woman being forced against the wall with a knee to her stomach, repeatedly, and a mouth attacking her chest while hands wandered and gripped at her shoulders?

Emma was crying out and trying her hardest to fight back, but to no avail. Her size outweighed her determination and Carl's strength was overpowering her frail state.

Her gut was being continually rammed by his knee and the kicking motion was making her nauseated, which she was starting to think was his point.

Her screams were futile, but she refused to stop straining her vocal chords on the off chance that someone passing by might hear and rescue her.

She wanted Will in those moments more than she'd ever.

"Stop screaming." Carl's fist collided with her jaw after she let out a heart-wrenching cry when his hand moved to the zipper of her skirt.

"Stop touching me," Emma shrieked in response, using her free hand to grab hold of his greasy hair.

Growling, he threw her to the floor, her nearly-naked front meeting the carpet while he pulled the arm that had tried to defend herself behind her back, twisting and successfully snapping one of her small bones, earning a loud cry.

"Stop. Screaming."

She bit her lip to try and distract from the pain flowing from her arm which was already swelling, but as he rolled her over, causing her to roll on it, Emma sobbed hysterically, and the noises were met with another sharp smack across her face and direct stomp to her stomach, making her cough.

When his foot left her, Emma made a split second decision to attempt knocking Carl off his feet by dragging hers under his, but to no avail as he straddled her waist and moved his mouth against her neck, hands tugging her skirt further down her hips.

Attempting to cradle her swelling arm, Emma fought against him and moved her left knee up to jab him in the back, but the move only proved to make him angry, "You," He growled, "Do _not_ fight me."

"M-My arm—" She sobbed, trying her hardest to swing her limb closer.

"That's what happens when you try to fight me. You're only going to end up hurt."

* * *

Will froze in the passenger seat of Sue's supped-up, Cheerio-red Hummer2 upon seeing a sporty vehicle in Emma's driveway.

"Oh, shit," He hissed, unbuckling, "He's here...Oh god, what's he doing to her? Pull up and I'll—"

Sue slammed on the breaks three driveways away. "We are not just busting the door down."

"You don't know what he could be doing to her! He could be hurting her or violating her or—"

"And what do you think he's going to do if he sees you running through the door to play superhero? Uh-uh, William. First thing you're going to do is call the cops and—"

Without waiting for her to finish the step-by-step plan, Will opened the side door and broke into a run towards Emma's condo, leaving Sue to mutter something about his hair product seeping into his rationality.

He wasn't completely out of his mind, though. As he caught his breath, Will crouched below her living room windowsill, just enough to peek inside. Trying not to grasp as he saw a shirtless Emma being lifted from the carpet to the wall by her bruised upper arms, Will turned back to see the cheerleading coach flying towards the house in her tank of an SUV.

She parked beyond the driveway of the next condo, and like him, snuck beneath the glass. While he was sure she had a thousand different possibilities of ways she wanted to call him out on his rash behavior, he was glad she decided to play cool and observe the assault taking place before them.

Will winced as Emma made an attempt to fight back by kicking Carl between the legs, but her effort was in vain as his foot came down on hers, making her yelp and likely spraining her ankle.

"What are we going to do?" Will hissed, panic obvious in his voice.

"Calm down," She said strongly, her glare focused on Carl's knee that continued coming in contact with Emma's stomach and his hands which appeared to be tightening around her throat. "We need to get in there — he's really lost it. He's going to kill her."

Will's breathing increased and in attempt to keep him level-headed, Sue put a heavy hand on his shoulder. "You go in first. But you have got to keep your cool. Try talking him down. If he makes any move to try and we'll step in. I'll be right behind you; but you have to do the talking. You need to calm him down. Understand?"

He swallowed and nodded, pacing to the door and opening it slowly, not wanting to startle either party.

Emma's eyes traveled to the sound of the creaky door and widened as she let out a breath that sounded like his name.

That breath had Carl's own wild orbs shooting a deadly glare into the Spanish teacher and cheerleading coach's direction, and a wicked smirk started on his face. "What the fuck are you doing here?" He questioned, a hint of laughter in his voice, as if their presence mattered.

Will stepped only the slightest closer, keeping his face locked on Emma's abuser. "Carl, let's talk..."

"Talk? You're here to talk?" He let out a gut-wrenching cackle and pressed his hand harder into Emma's throat, causing her to let out a gagging, choking noise and pled with her eyes that either Sue or Will would step forward to save her.

"Carl, look at what you're doing," Will felt tears rolling down his own cheeks as Carl's hand that wasn't around her throat moved to finally tear away her skirt, leaving her in nothing but undergarments.

"I know exactly what I'm doing," His voice was uneven, maniacal. "I'm claiming what's mine."

Emma moved her head up only slightly to gasp for air, but the noise was enough to earn a sharp slap to her face from Carl's hand.

Will winced but didn't let the image take away from his goal.

"So this is how you like your property, then?" He raised a brow, stepping ever-so-slowly forward, Sue behind him all the while. "You like having the woman you claim to love beaten to a pulp and crying beneath you?"

"She needs to know she's mine." His teeth sunk back into her shoulder and his hand that wasn't restricting her airway moved to her back to remove the final piece of fabric from her upper half.

Will's fingers curled into fists as he felt his blood pressure rising at the sight of the woman he loved being assaulted in such a way, and he turned his face as Carl revealed her breasts and dipped to place his mouth on them.

Sensing this movement, Carl smirked and turned back to Will. "Does this bother you, Schuester? Seeing me in control of the bitch you love?"

He closed his eyes, forcing a new round of tears to stay behind them. When he reopened them, Carl was licking a line beneath Emma's left breast to her right, when he noticed, as the damn dentist changed positions, a patch of skin above her naval that had turned an angry shade of bluish-purple.

"Carl!" Will shouted, taking two brave steps closer, causing the darker haired man to shove Emma's body further into the wall to protect his property. "Do you not see what you're doing? Look at her stomach! She's bleeding! She needs help!"

Emma tried to look down in a panic, but her sudden disobedience was met with her broken arm being squashed into the smooth surface of her wall. The pain left her no choice but to cry miserably and sink into her boyfriend's hold.

"You're going to kill her, Carl! Then what would be the point? What good would she be to you if she was dead? Please, let her go." Will cried, begging, "Just let her go."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you, Schuester?" He smiled again and pressed roughly against Emma's gut, watching in sick satisfaction as she moaned in pain. "If I let her go, so she could run into your arms...so you could be the hero you think you are?"

Just as Carl's fingers were about to slip into the waistband of Emma's remaining undergarment, something inside Will snapped completely, and he dismissed the plan to keep cool.

In a quick, unthought-through moment of blind anger, Will lunged at Carl's jaw with as much power as he could pack into his fist, causing the other man to stumble backwards and Emma to fall to the floor in a heap.

As he was about to turn and help the redhead, Carl sprung forward and was prepared to launch, but Sue demonstrated her power in a swift ju-jitsu move to his neck, knocking him to the ground and leaving Will to crawl hurriedly to Emma's abandoned body.

While the title-winning coach and board-certified dentist tussled on the floor, Will reached forward and brought Emma's broken frame into his lap, holding her as loosely as possible while still attempting to comfort the woman.

"Will," She whispered, clutching her broken arm to her naked chest as his tears landed on her face. "You...you came..."

He sobbed and bowed his head to hers, mindful of the bruises and brokenness that now covered her. "I'm so sorry you had to go through this...I'm, I—"

A shrieking cry of victory tore through the apartment as the couple strained to see

Sue pulling Carl's arms behind his back as his face met the carpet, one foot on the behinds of his knees while she stomped hard with the other in a move of dominance.

Without missing a beat, she pulled her iPhone out of her tracksuit and called the emergency services.

"This is Sue Sylvester, and I've just made a citizen's arrest of a domestic abuser in the home of a Miss Emma Pillsbury, who has been critically injured. We'll be needing police and paramedics on the scene immediately."

Emma smiled weakly as Will gently ran his fingers through her tangled hair while Sue delivered her address and a few additional pieces of information before Emma blacked out.

* * *

She returned to consciousness less than four minutes later, on her side as a trail of vomit and blood fell from her mouth after paramedics took over for Will in administering CPR and successfully keeping her alive. In her groggy state, she didn't have time to be grossed out by the germy mixture which left her body and wound up on her carpet. Rather, she hysterically attempted to keep breathing and found herself being moved to a gurney and an oxygen mask applied to her face to end the struggle.

The world was a haze around her, lights flashed, people in blue swarmed Emma and her home, a bright red blur, which she assumed would have been Sue Sylvester stood next to a man in a suit, while nowhere could her mind register—

"Will," She attempted to speak his name, but only a string of vowels left her mouth, which felt like someone had punched ten times over, when she remembered, they had.

A paramedic was taking her temperature, while another analyzed her stomach, shaking his head and murmuring something about needing surgery, and that's when Emma lost it completely.

They were focused on moving her into the ambulance, so neither of the four men attending to her noticed the earliest signs of her panic attack, but a curly haired Spanish teacher who had been speaking to a police officer did, and leapt into action.

"Emma," He said, keeping up with the men, who watched as her battered face contorted and her eyes began to move wildly. "Emma, listen to the sound of my voice, listen to me, don't worry about what's going on around you—"

He was cut off by one of the paramedics who pushed him back. "Sir, we need you to step aside so we can get her to the hospital."

"She's having a panic attack, damnit," Will hissed, trying to take another step towards Emma, but was this time detained by an officer.

"Sir, you've got to let them do their job—"

"No!" He ripped away from the man in uniform and jumped into the back of the emergency service vehicle, crouching to gently cup the side of Emma's face that seemed the least damaged. "Emma, listen to me, okay? Just focus on me...I'm not going to leave you again, I swear, just keep breathing and—"

Two men grabbed him behind his arms and started to drag him out of the medical transporter, but Emma's sudden sharp cry stopped all movement around her.

"Will," It was barely audible, but her eyes spoke for her as the officers released the Glee coach and the paramedics stood back for the two to be properly united.

He felt tears falling for what felt like the hundredth time that hour, but he did nothing to stop them as Emma tried to move her hand from her unbroken arm to reach for his. He saved her the effort and kneeled before her, lacing their fingers together and bringing his lips to them softly.

"I love you Emma. I'm not going to walk away."

Everyone around the couple saw the faintest of smiles on Emma's face before her eyes closed and the monitors that had only just been hooked up to her chest were already drawling out a dead-pan beep, sending all individuals back into action and forcing Will to step aside.

He was informed he could ride up front, which he did as the ambulance sped down the road, failing to yield at the same stop sign as the man who caused the madness did daily.

Will followed behind the rushing individuals towards the hospital's emergency room as they burst through the automatic doors. He tried his hardest to see what they were doing, but to no avail. He was quickly steered by a medical assistant to fill out paperwork, but he brushed it out of her hands.

"Sir, we need her information—"

"It can wait, damnit!" He cried, pushing his way into the room Emma had been carted into and watching in horror as a doctor hollered a 'clear!' before pressing paddles onto Emma's chest.

Will fell back against the wall, his head in his hands as he slid down it.

Again, the doctor's voice called out, "Charging! Clear!"

And again, "Charging! Clear!"

And yet again, "Charging! Clear!"

He didn't know how much time had passed, but as Will closed his eyes and sent his first prayer in years, he heard a few sighs of relief as a faint line of beeps sounded in the background.

"She's stable!"

Praying a second time, in thanks, he stood and moved a little closer to watch as Emma's injuries were inspected and the team surrounding her decided what needed to be taken care of first.

"...The bleeding is my biggest concern at the moment. Her arm fracture is swollen, but it will be fixable. Her face and arms are cause for alarm, but not as severe as her stomach. We're going to need to operate and..."

Will checked out after 'operate' and stared into space, letting the reality of Emma's situation overcome him until he was snapped back into the present with the doctor asking what significance he had in Emma's life.

"I-I'm her...best friend," He said softly, trying to contain his emotions.

The doctor shrugged. "Does Ms. Pillsbury have any family in town, a boyfriend?"

"Her boyfriend is the one who did this to her," Will stated sharply, then remembered to keep his calm. "Her family's out of state...I-I know she'd let me speak for her. What are you going to be doing with her?"

"We're taking her up for surgery, to repair the internal damage and stop the bleeds in her stomach, as that's the most critical of her injuries right now. Once she's done with that, we'll be setting her arm and casting it, then taking a look at her ankle. I don't think it's broken, but we can't be sure until it's x-rayed."

Will nodded. "What can I do?"

The doctor laid a hand on his shoulder, "Relax and pray."

* * *

Sue swung by the hospital by the time Emma was three hours into surgery, with a triumphant smile on her face.

"Hey," Will greeted, standing from his position of vigilance outside the operating room. "What...what went down at the station?"

"They're holding the bastard, without bond, for at least the next seventy-two hours. They'll need Emma's testimony and copies of the medical findings."

Will breathed a sigh of relief and explained Emma's situation, knowing Sue was curious but wouldn't ask.

"It's a good thing I've already spoken to Figgins." Sue interjected as he finished his report on what was happening beyond the sterile doors.

"What...what did you say?" He questioned.

Sue took a seat, her body language inviting him to do the same.

"I informed him of the situation, explained she's been rushed here and will undoubtably need some time off. He asked if you were with her, and I said yes. I told him to give you the next week, to be with her."

Will's jaw dropped. "Wow, Sue...thank you, I...I can't...Just—"

Her hands clasped in her lap as she leaned over. "William, I need you to understand, though...the next few weeks...they're going to be like nothing you've ever experienced."

He nodded and swallowed. "Sue...how, how did you know? How did you know it was happening, and...what to do? Or...what it's going to be like now?"

She took a breath and shook her short blonde locks. "Sometimes, even the mighty fall. Sometimes, it seems like there's nothing you can do and that you're trapped in a hopeless situation...and it takes a really good friend to get you out."

He raised a brow. "You...you've been through this?"

Sue stood, "I've got an early morning. Need my Cheerios in top shape for this weekend...Big county-wide competition."

Will leapt to his feet, "Sue—"

"Take care of her, Will."

He opened and closed his mouth but nodded. "Thank you, for everything."

* * *

Over an hour later, Will was approached by a doctor in scrubs, who did not look hopeful.

"How...how's she doing?"

The older man's wrinkled face gave no indication that Emma's condition was improving.

"She's stable." Will breathed his millionth sigh of relief and looked up, trying to keep his tears at bay. "We stopped the bleeding, but there may be some permanent damage to her stomach lining that we'll look further into. It will likely be manageable with medication and diet." Will nodded, accepting that fate as a reasonable outcome compared to what could have happened. "Her left arm is fractured, we casted it and in six to eight weeks, she'll have it removed. There may be some physical therapy after, but that'll be up to an orthopedic surgeon. Her right foot was sprained, and will heal within a few weeks, so long as she's not bearing weight on it."

Will bit his lip. "How...how's her face...and her throat?"

The doctor sighed, "She's not breathing on her own, at the moment. We'll see when she wakes up if we can take her off the oxygen. The bruises on her face and chest will fade. There's no permanent damage, but she may be swollen and purple for a week or two."

Saying what felt like his hundredth silent prayer of the day, Will asked one final round of questions. "When will she wake up? Is she going to be able to walk? When can I see her?"

"She'll wake up in the next few hours," The man sighed. "As for walking? It'll be a few weeks. She can't bear weight on her ankle and we can't have her using the muscles in her stomach to sit or stand herself up. She's going to need someone with her at all times. I'm assuming that'll be you?" Will nodded. "Then I'll have a nurse take you to the recovery ward, where Emma's currently still under sedation."

With a comforting pat on his shoulder, the doctor left Will to return behind the closed doors.

After twenty minutes of waiting, the curly haired Spanish teacher was ushered into a private room, where he froze upon entering the doorway and seeing the love of his life in the state she was in.

A tube was down her throat, to keep her breathing. A white, thick cast surrounded her left arm, and he could see the bulkiness from a wrap on the ankle opposite her arm.

"Oh, Emma..." Will whispered, daring to step closer as tears spilled down his face. Gently as possible, he whisked a matted patch of hair from her forehead. "How could he do this to you? God," He choked, cupping her blue cheek as softly as he could and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I'm so, so sorry I didn't notice this was going on...God, Emma...I just...I don't..." He cried, taking her unwrapped hand and folding it into his own. Sitting on the edge of the bed with a long sigh and a shaky breath, he murmured, "I love you."

* * *

Sweet Sandy Ryerson! The feedback from last chapter was absolutely phenomenal! See this update? Only forty-eight hours later, that's how inspiring it was! I can't even express how much it means that you all care so much!

As for the reader's choice from last chapter; response was literally neck-and-neck, but Will won by three votes when I counted (more have come in but I wanted to get this up asap)! That said...

How about another reader's choice? So, I was planning on ending this fic within the next two chapters. However, much like Mr. Schuester, I spend many a late night watching_ Law and Order_; and have been inspired with a few ideas that could lengthen this fic. Now, I'm not a doctor or a lawyer, but I have a pretty good idea how human anatomy and the justice system work, so I'd do my best to keep it as 'real' as I could. **Would we like this ending in the next chapter or two, comfortably? Or would we like to extend the agony and continue the journey with whatever crazy plot twists I throw in? **It's up to you!


	7. Part VII

Her heavy eyelids were given the ability to open in half-centimeter slits, just enough to excite the person sitting next to her, keeping watch.

"Emma, hey...stay calm, alright? Don't try to talk. You've got a tube down your throat...the doctors weren't sure you could breathe on your own."

Barely processing his words with the amount of pain she was currently in, Emma blinked heavily and closed her eyes once more.

"Oh, oh, Em...hang on, hang on...let me go get a nurse to check you out...just stay awake if you can, alright?"

There was some scrambling and she hardly felt herself being poked at and prodded, even though her body was screaming in pain, everything was numb.

"Can you open your eyes for us?"

She tried in vain, her muscles too weak to function properly.

"Come on, Em, you can do it..." Will was cheering her on, but even his voice didn't seem to be enough to stir her.

Surrendering to the darkness behind her lids, Emma succumbed to sleep once more.

It was several more hours before her lashes fluttered again, this time, she found the strength to open them almost all the way. Unfortunately, this time, her guardian had his own eyes closed in sleep.

Attempting to figure out a way to alert him of her awake state, her predicament was solved for her, as choking noises escaped her throat from her attempt to breathe on her own, rather than having the machine do it for her.

Will shook his head and opened an eye to see hers wide in panic before nearly bursting into tears at the sight of Emma awake. "Oh, god, Emma, thank god, I—Oh, you're choking..." He sprung from the bed and called into the hallway for a nurse, who was promptly at her side, removing the tube and spraying her throat with a numbing agent to take away the pain.

"There we go," The latino woman encouraged Emma to take shallow breaths. "Keep a nice, steady pattern...breathe out and in...you're doing great..."

It took several minutes and a nasal oxygen tube, but Emma was finally regulating her air intake. "Great job," The nurse congratulated her and tested her body for vital signs, happy to see the redhead clearing what was expected. "You're looking very stable. We're happy you've come this far already."

She attempted to speak, but her throat was bone dry and scratched from the breathing device and her jaw was too sore to form words.

"Don't talk, honey...just blink once for 'yes' and twice for 'no' at my questions, okay?"

Emma blinked once, to which the nurse smiled.

"Are you in pain?" One blink. "On a scale of one to ten, how much?" Emma blinked ten times rapidly, and while it took a great deal of energy, she was hoping to be relieved of her body's aches after announcing them, however subtly. "We'll do what we can to up your morphine...do you know where you are?" Emma blinked once, again, but twice to the next question of, "Do you know why you're here?"

Will took in a sharp breath, nervous the memories wouldn't flood back by the time the police needed her testimony.

"Well, you were injured, quite badly. You had some internal bleeding and we've done surgery to repair the damage. Your left arm is broken and right ankle is sprained. You've got bruising all over, but it'll all heal in time. Your friend Will Schuester has agreed to staying with you until you're better."

Emma's eyes flickered to the man she had her heart wrapped around for so long and her weak facial muscles strained a small smile, which he returned by grasping her hand that wasn't covered in plaster. While she couldn't feel it, she sensed his presence and was warmed by his care.

"We'll have a doctor in here as soon as we can. For now, just try to relax. I'll see what I can do about your pain."

She left, and a comfortable silence hung in the room until Will leaned down to press a soft, sweet kiss to Emma's temple, which she turned slightly into. "Hey," He whispered, voice filled with happy tears. "I'm so glad you're alright." She didn't really feel 'alright,' so Emma supposed he meant 'alive.' "God, Em...I have so many things I need to apologize to you for..."

"Wh..." Emma attempted to ask a question, but the nurse was right, her throat was burning and jaw felt like she'd been punched — which she had a feeling, she had been.

"Sh, Emma...Don't try to talk...You're in a lot of pain right now, I don't want you to make it worse."

She just wanted to know what happened, what caused her injuries...had it been a car accident? Something at work? Something at home? Carl...

"Carl," She choked out in a shaky hiss.

"Yes," Will sighed, shaking his head, causing tears to land on her white linen. "This was Carl...he did this to you, and I'm so, so sorry, Emma. I know that words won't ever be enough to fix what's happened, but hopefully, you'll at least let me stay with you until you're physically better. If you want me to leave at any time, I will, but I want to be here for you—"

Her eyes closed again, and through barely parted lips, Emma mustered the energy to whisper, "Stay."

Will smiled and nuzzled into her hair with his forehead, pressing another kiss to hers and keeping his fingers laced in hers until the steady beat of her monitors indicated she'd fallen asleep yet again.

* * *

"She can hardly keep her eyes open, let alone talk!" Emma heard shouting outside of her hospital room and started to wake, feeling like she was in less pain than the last time she woke — they must have upped her morphine.

"If we want to keep him detained, we've got to get the story. He won't talk."

"She won't either, because she can't!"

There was some rustling and the voices were lowered so Emma couldn't distinguish their words, but as her door opened and she saw the retreating backs of several police officers and Will entering, Emma gathered what they needed to discuss with her.

"Emma!" Will's irritated expression changed the moment he saw her awake again. "One second," He said excitedly, popping his head into the hallway and pacing to her side, sitting on the bed and gently stroking the same hand he had been.

A nurse joined them momentarily, taking her temperature. "Oh, fever's up," She muttered, scrunching her nose up in confusion. "Hope you're not getting an infection, dear." After being prodded for a few more moments, Emma was offered water, which the nurse held for her. It burned at first, but after a few swallows, her throat felt remarkably better. "Can you talk to me, dear?"

Emma swallowed and sighed, weakly stating, "I-I think...Yeah." Will smiled and squeezed her fingers.

"Hows' your pain level?"

"Um...little better," She croaked, her consonants running together.

"Good, we've got a doctor downstairs who will be up to take a look at you in a few minutes. In the meantime, you are free to keep drinking water; but we'll wait for the doctor before we decide on food."

The woman in scrubs left Emma's side and room, leaving Will to look deep into Emma's eyes. "I don't mean to keep bringing it up, but...anything come back, about what happened?"

Emma bit her lip lightly and gave a slight nod down. She could visualize Carl's crazed face and practically feel his hands, sharp and persistent all over her body.

"Yes," She whispered, a tear rolling down her blue-hued face.

Will's thumb ever-so-gently pressed it away. "It's okay, it's all over now. As bad as it sounds, I'm glad you remember. The police need your testimony so they can keep Carl behind bars until an official trial happens. Or something like that." His smile almost made her forget the topic they discussed, but Emma cleared her throat and met Will's eyes purposefully.

"I-I don't...I don't want to give my testimony," She choked, feeling more tears escaping.

Will tilted his head. "Emma...I...Emma, why wouldn't you want to do that?"

Glancing down at her broken arm to avoid his gaze, Emma sniffed and tried her best to make her words comprehendible. "I want to forget about this."

He shook his head. "You...you can't just forget about this, Em. I know it might be easier to, but...we've got an extremely serious situation here. It's not something you can just sweep under the rug...not that you'd ever sweep anything under the rug," He added the last comment to try and make her smile, despite their heavy subject.

She refused to look at him still, missing the small joke. "I'm scared." It was barely audible, but her confession made sense to Will, who shifted and tilted her chin gently to look at him.

"I know you're scared. But you know what?" He thumbed her wrist and rubbed her upper arm, mindful of her bruises. "I'm going to be right here with you, throughout all of this. You don't have to be afraid."

"He-he'll come back," Emma cried, "He always does."

"Oh, Emma," Will sighed, "He's locked up now, and if you want to keep him that way, you've got to talk. You have to tell the cops what he did to you. I know, it's awful—"

"I-It's embarrassing," She breathed hard. "A-and, what...what if he didn't mean any of it, and the judge rules for him and—"

"Hey, hey," Will was slightly shocked that Emma wouldn't want to see her accuser behind bars, but knowing her timid nature, it wasn't entirely surprising that she was still trying to see the best in Carl. "It's going to be difficult to talk about, yes, Em...but it'll be worth it. Then, Carl won't ever be able to hurt you or anyone else ever again." He pressed a sweet kiss to her nose, smiling brightly to encourage her as he pulled away. "You'll be a hero for standing up to him, Em."

If she had the energy, Emma would have laughed bitterly. "'M no hero," She mumbled and tried to turn on her side, but ended up gasping in pain.

Will cringed and pulled her sheet down and her gown up. "I'm not trying to invade your privacy, but you should probably know..." Her eyes widened at the sight of the bandage that wrapped from below her breasts to an inch past her belly button. "You're not allowed to do any moving for awhile, you can't even sit up on your own. But, I'll be there to help you. I'm not leaving you."

"Will," She muttered tearfully, making a grasp for his hand, which he gladly accepted.

A doctor entered the room after several moments of intimate silence, asking Will quietly to step out so he could check Emma alone. He took her temperature again, wincing as it was still elevated. "We're going to draw some blood and check for infection."

He then ran her through some facts about her surgery, most of which she didn't understand and made her attempt a few movements, to which all attempts were met in failure, but he didn't seem entirely discouraged. "Once you've got your strength back, I'm sure a full recovery is in your future...has anyone talked to you about the damage caused by the bleeding?" She shook her head and the man expressed concerns about her future dietary and medication requirements, most of which she met anyway. "How would you feel about getting some food in your system?"

Realizing she hadn't had anything since spilled coffee Thursday morning, and it was late into Friday night, Emma nodded and the doctor punched a few keys into the computer which would inform the food service a few floors below what she was allowed to eat. With a few parting words and a promise of being back in a few hours, the blonde-haired doctor stepped out of the room, and Will back in.

"You must be hungry," Emma whispered as he sat in the same space he had been. "I'm having blood drawn, maybe, um, after, you could go eat, if you want. I'll be okay."

He shrugged. "I'll wait until you go to sleep. I don't want you lonely."

Her heart melting, Emma smiled sincerely for the first time since the ordeal took place.

* * *

His face was haunting.

Every time Emma blinked or attempted to sleep, all she could see was Carl's wide, wild smirk and angry, blazing eyes.

Will was tired, too. He'd been sleeping in the uncomfortable chair next to her lumpy bed for the better part of two days, but he refused to leave her side while she was awake, and when she did sleep, he'd run home — Finn had brought his car to the hospital the day after the incident — to shower and change, grab a bite to eat, and be back before she awoke.

But as the dark circles began to form under his eyes, Emma knew she'd have to say something to convince him he needed rest as much as she did.

She maneuvered herself, however painful the process was, to the right side of her bed while he had left for a few hours, thinking she'd fallen asleep. She had, but a nightmare of the bastard's hands on her hips and reaching into the elastic of her underwear made sleep difficult to come by.

Hopefully, when Will got back, at least one of them would have a decent rest in her bed.

He slid into the dark room as silently as possible and Emma kept her eyes shut in curiosity of what he'd do while thinking she was asleep.

Sighing contently, he placed a bag on the floor and unzipped the hoodie he had on. One leg rested on the edge of the bed, while the other dangled on the floor. Barely touching her, Will stroked Emma's hair with his thumb and forefinger, whispering, "Even battered, you're still beautiful." There was a long pause and Emma had to fight not to turn her lips into a smile. "God," He sounded choked up, "I wish, every day, that I could go back in time, and I could have met you first. Especially now...none of this would have happened if I would have made you mine a long time ago...but," His hands stopped an his lips moved over hers, but he clearly rethought the move and placed his kiss above her left eyebrow. "But, hopefully it won't be too long before I can make you mine...So I can spend every moment with you, hold you whenever you're upset, not just broken like this...I love you, Emma."

At the last line, she fluttered her eyes open and met his, which were wide in fear that he'd been caught. "Do you always talk to me like this in my sleep?" She asked, trying not to let on how excited his words made her.

"Um..."

"Did you mean it?"

He looked for a reason to deny it in her eyes, curious if she was angry by his statements. Finding none he shrugged a yes and found himself snuggling into the space she'd created for him.

"You may not have met me first," Emma whispered, letting her good arm rest over his chest. "But you have me now."

"Yeah?" Will asked, curling her fingers in his.

"I don't want to rush into this, especially in my current, um...condition. But...I want to be with you. In more ways than just...being sick and needing someone to take care of me."

Will kissed her cheek this time and wound his arm below her bandages, nuzzling into her. "And what I meant the most, is that I love you. I really, really do."

"I know you do," She said softly, leaning her head on his shoulder. He yawned, trying to cover up the tiniest disappointment that she hadn't said it back, but he couldn't expect her to, not yet. "You can go to sleep. Maybe having someone next to me will help me sleep, too."

* * *

"We generally only allow family, priests and attorneys to speak with the detainees, Ms. Sylvester."

The blonde scoffed. "I'll let you know I've got my master's in counseling. Now let me back there to give Dr. Howell a little advice."

The officer in the front rolled his eyes, but buzzed a door open, which Sue entered without thanking him.

"You're welcome Ms. Sylvester."

"I never said thanks," She sneered, taking a few steps until she was escorted by another man in uniform to lead her where Carl was currently laying on his back, alone in a cell.

"Sue Sylvester," He let out a small laugh. "Glad to see you've graced me with your presence. What are you here for? The satisfaction of a job well done? Because," He stood and clapped, "Job well done."

"Sit your ass down, Howell. I'm not here to play games with you." He took a few steps forward and gripped the iron bars. "I'm here to make sure you stay behind these bars to rot. I will not be satisfied with community service or anything less than life in prison. Of course, I'd be happier with the electric chair, but unfortunately our state doesn't allow that."

Carl leaned against the bar, a pouty expression on his face. "And just what makes you care so damn much about that pathetic excuse of a woman, hm? Certainly can't be her personality — the woman's a freak. Can't be that you're her friend, otherwise you would have taken action long before you did."

"Allow me to break it down for you, Carl," She spat his name, gripping the bars herself and narrowing her eyes. "There is no woman on this earth who deserves to be treated the way you treated Emma. She was weak and fragile, and you took advantage of that. I'm here to make sure you don't have the opportunity to ever treat another woman like that again."

Carl's smile still hadn't dissipated. "Let me guess. Ex-boyfriend throw a few punches your way? Maybe you saw mommy get knocked around by daddy a time too many?"

Sue's eyes nearly closed in a memory, but she was not about to let the man locked up have the upper hand. "Just remember, Carl. The mightier they are, the harder they fall. Not that I would call you mighty. Just pathetic for assuming you could knock around a mentally handicapable woman and get away with it. You won't. You can play that you've been traumatized in the past, that you weren't right in the head, whatever sorry excuses you can think of to get out of this. But let me warn you now; you're on my playing field. And Sue Sylvester only plays to win. There's no ties, no concessions. Only victory.

* * *

"No!" Emma groaned and tried to turn over, only to cry out in pain.

"Emma, it's okay, sh, sh..." Will comforted her, stroking her hair gently. "It'll be over soon enough, alright?"

Two nurses and a doctor stood at the edge of her bed, waiting with supplies to do a spinal tap, checking for any infection the blood screenings may have missed, as Emma's temperature was still elevated with no other reason that had been uncovered as the days she'd spent in the hospital numbered four.

"No, no more tests...no...I-I want a shower and my own bed. I want to go home." She clung to Will's arm, eyes desperate that he would see the pain in her eyes, the comfort she needed from her own space.

Will rubbed her shoulder gently. "Em, I know...I know...and as soon as they get you better, we'll get you home. But they have to find out what's wrong first."

"I-I don't want that in my back, Will! I just want to go home!" Tears sprinkled her eyes and her hand curled around his arm. "Please, take me home!"

He shook his head and nodded the doctor over. "Let's do the test and—"

"Will!" Emma was shaking, she was so upset.

His lips dropped to her forehead and moved to her ear, mumbling, "I know you're upset. You've been through hell the past few days. You're scared and embarrassed and you just want to go home and sleep in your own bed. I'm listening to you, Em...but there are a few more things we need to do before you can go. We've got to get you well enough to stay stable outside of the hospital, and we've still got to talk to the police. But once it's all taken care of, I'll take you home, you'll get your shower, and I'll tuck you into bed, okay? How about you take a few deep breaths, and I'll help you roll over?"

She clutched his faded, red t-shirt and nodded weakly, sniffling. After a few deep breaths, Will guided his hands around her back and midsection, then pulled her over so she was on her side. Waiting for her nod of confirmation, Will let her go and pressed another kiss to her face, then motioned for the doctor to start the procedure.

A nurse held down her legs while Will clutched her hand with one of his and held the shoulder of her broken arm down with the other. Emma's body tensed in pain several minutes after preparation, when a needle slid into her lumbar and drained fluid, but Will's voice, speaking nothing but nonsense, distracted her from the severity of the discomfort.

Once they'd finished, the nurses offered to have Emma cleaned down, even though she'd had a 'bath' the evening previous, knowing her condition, they felt it would ease her mind to be clean once more.

After all the prodding and scrubbing was through, Emma was back in bed, exhausted, but hungry.

"Want me to order you something?" Will asked.

She nodded and asked for a soup — one of the few things on the menu she'd been given permission to consume.

When it came, Will fed her, as she didn't have the ability to spoon it to herself laying down. It was embarrassing for Emma, to have her body in such an infant-like state, but Will didn't judge her or mind, as he'd told her countless times since the ordeal began.

Finally having all activity seise for more than an hour, Emma crashed, her eyes fluttered shut and Will did nothing but curl up next to her, wishing her sweet dreams with an, "I love you," and pressing a kiss to her cheek.

* * *

That seemed endless, huh? I wanted to do more with Sue this chapter, however, she's all but impossible to write. At least we had a bit of a fluff fest. I hope it was as emotional as I intended it to be. As for the medical stuff, well, I watch _House_, so I'm practically a doctor. I'd like to think I have a relatively good idea of how certain procedures work, but it might have been a big fat fail. I did my best!

And thanks to all your input, the story will be continuing! I've got a trial, some major fluff and emotional trauma on the way! Your feedback is so much appreciated! I love your ideas, even if I don't end up using all of them. It's great to see what you want. That said, if there's a particular scene you would like to see in the upcoming trial or recovery, I'll take it to heart and consider it, as this point in the story was unplanned. Thanks for reading!


	8. Part VIII

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave the room. We don't want your presence here influencing Ms. Pillsbury's testimony."

"I'm not going to...listen, Emma needs me with her, I'm—"

Will was cut off by the woman propped up in her hospital bed, wearing a soft expression and motioning with her eyes that he sit next to her.

"I'll be okay. I mean...it'll be hard, but I think you've given them enough trouble," She smiled at the last word and watched him sigh, his head falling to his chest. "Look, why don't you go eat while I'm doing this. I know for a fact you haven't yet today, and it's already three o'clock."

He fiddled with the top of her sheet and sighed, relenting. "Okay. But If I'm not back when you're done—"

"Will," Emma giggled, even though the shaking movement was still sore on her chest, "I'll be fine, I promise. Go eat."

Placing a quick kiss to her temple, Will obliged and left Emma to the attention of the detective and police officer who'd entered her room ten minutes prior.

Thankful that the individual who'd be questioning her was a woman, Emma cleared her throat as she introduced herself.

"I'm Detective Reeves. I'm one of three working your case and with the medical findings the doctors have already presented, alongside your testimony and evidence found in your home and on the assailant, we believe this will be solved in no time."

Emma pressed her lips together before asking, "Did, um...did Carl confess? Or is...is he saying he's innocent?"

"Oh," The woman sighed, her short hair flipping itself naturally as she moved. "He's claiming he's not guilty, but our evidence alongside two eye-witness testimonies and your first-hand account will disprove him, don't worry about that. So," She raised her voice slightly, "Ready to start?"

Taking a deep breath, Emma nodded and after turning on a pocked-sized tape-recorder, the woman began her questioning. "How did you meet Carl Howell?"

Reflecting, Emma said quietly, "He was my dentist...I'd been going to his office since I moved to Lima four years ago...It wasn't until my last appointment, in May, that he asked me out."

"And how, exactly, did he ask you out?"

"Well, um...I was, I was having a bad day...and...I have a little trouble, with, um...messes and...germs. So, he offered...offered to show me his sanitizing equipment to put my mind at ease."

The detective nipped at the edge of her pen, clearly thinking deeply. "Looking back now, do you think he may have been playing on your weakness?"

Emma blinked, opening and closing her mouth a few times. "Um...maybe? I...I guess it is a pretty unconventional way of asking someone out. Now...now that I'm really...I think that he was. I think that...he knew what he wanted, all along...maybe? I don't...I don't know."

"My next question for you; what was it like in the beginning?"

"Well," Emma cleared her throat and twisted the edge of the blanket in her hands. "It wasn't too bad. I mean, I'll be honest, Carl was a rebound from a previous relationship, and I only said yes because...it was a bad day, and—"

"You were vulnerable," The detective offered.

"I suppose...I agreed to go on a few more dates with him because he asked and I...I needed to clear my head. He was very...extravagant. Liked to show me off, told me that I was pretty...I guess I liked that. He took me shopping a lot, bought me really nice things. Nice dresses to wear to his fancy parties...so he could introduce me to all his rich friends. And...you know, it really bothered me, because he'd never introduce me as 'Emma, my beautiful girlfriend...' it was always, "My beautiful girlfriend, Emma," like my looks were more important than me."

Reeves took note of the point and tilted her head in the guidance counselor's direction. "Did you ever mention how it made you feel?" Emma shook her head. "No? And why's that?"

"He...he..." She took a brave breath before whispering, "He scared me."

"Even early on?" The detective raised a blonde brow.

Emma nodded and turned away. "He just...he creeped me out, I guess. It...it never felt right."

"But you stayed with him because you were afraid of what he'd do if you tried to leave?"

"Exactly," Emma whispered, flushing in embarrassment. "I know, it's pathetic, but—"

"Hey," Reeves covered Emma's hand in her own, and after all the direct human contact in the past few days, the redhead didn't even flinch. "It is not pathetic. These things...we'll never know, really, why someone would treat another human being the way you were, Ms. Pillsbury. But we do know that it's not your fault. It's nothing to hide or be ashamed of. You're so brave for being willing to talk to us about this...so we can get this asshole off the streets in hopes he won't be able to hurt anyone ever again. So...when did the...physical abuse start?"

* * *

Will paced outside Emma's room and was only allowed back in when the officer called into the hall for a nurse to assist with Emma's latest panic attack. The nurse entered, but by the amount of attacks she'd had, they knew it was bet to let Will take over.

"Breathe with me, Em. Come on, that's it...easy, easy...in, out...good, good. You're okay, you're okay." He rubbed her shoulders as she began to regulate her air intake and felt her eyes focus.

"Thanks," She whispered, nestling deeper into her mattress as the onset of sleep approached.

Detective Reeves patted her leg. "I won't make you keep going, Ms. Pillsbury. We've got two matching eye-witness accounts and enough physical evidence to account for what happened next. Thank you so much, for your willingness to participate in this. Your efforts will be rewarded, I can guarantee it."

The police left the room, leaving Will to melt into Emma's side. "You alright?"

"I will be," She whispered, moving her good hand to touch his leg. "Thanks for saving me...as always."

"Em," Will laughed and took the hand that was fiddling with his jeans, hoping she wouldn't notice how excited he got by the simple touch. "You know you don't have to thank me."

"But I want to." She smiled, as brightly as he'd seen her in months. "When I can walk again, will you dance with me?"

Will tightened her hand in his and kissed her cheek. "I'd love to."

"I had a dream, before the police came in...that we were dancing. It was the first one that didn't have him in it since..." Her voice trailed off and Will's arm circled her, still mindful of her sore stomach.

He snuggled into hair, even though it was greasier than she'd have liked and didn't smell like her usual shampoo. "I'm glad I can bring you better dreams."

"I was really stupid," Emma admitted, "Not wanting to forgive you. If I had, none of this...none of this would have happened."

"Emma," He pleaded, it was almost a whine. "Stop blaming yourself. For everything." His lips met the skin next to her ear. "I mean it."

She slumped, pouting. "I'm hungry. Can you order me some food?"

"Only if you promise me you'll work on stopping the self-blame."

She glared for a moment, but relented. "Okay. I'll work on it. I promise."

Will's lips curled into a smile as he sat up. "So, what would you like put into a blender today?"

Emma groaned. "Nothing. I'm really ready for some solids."

"Not according to your doctor. How about something fruity? A smoothie, perhaps?"

"I could go for a smoothie," Emma mused. "Do they have peach?"

"Sure do. I'll order it up."

"Make sure you tell them no milk!"

He tried to hide a smile when she requested it, but failed, earning a hard stare. "What?" He laughed. "Sorry, Em. You just make me smile."

"What about me?" She would have crossed her arms if she could, but she was satisfied with raising an eyebrow and pouting.

"Everything. All of you. Even your quirks, they're fun." Not pressing the issue, Will called to a lower level to place her order.

Within five minutes, a medical assistant was resting a tray on the nightstand and Will was holding Emma's cup and guiding the straw to her lips. She closed her eyes for a brief moment before smirking up at him.

"You know," He sat, rubbing her upper arm. "I think that somehow you're getting a really sick satisfaction out of having me dote on you."

Emma giggled and continued to sip at the beverage.

"Not that I mind. I mean, Figgins might, but you know, he's—"

She pulled away and tried to sit up in shock, but reconsidered after a searing pain ripped through her belly.

"Hey, hey," He put the cup down and guided her back. "Take it easy, Em...what is it?"

"You-you need to work! What...what are you doing here? Who's got your classes? Isn't Figgins mad? Who's doing my work? I hope it's not Mr. Bellows again, he messed up my office so bad, and—"

"Relax, relax." Will cupped her chin so she'd look at him. "It's okay. Figgins gave me the week off, at least, to take care of you. He said he'd extend if if we need to. He was very understanding and wants you better. As for your job, I think they've just closed the office door, from. Mrs. Kellans can step up to the plate and be a guidance counselor for once if anyone needs help."

"Oh, gosh, Will, I had been making some very serious improvements with some students, and who knows how long it will be before I can get back! I, I need a nurse. I need to get out of here and I need to go back to work and—"

"Emma!" He raised his voice only slightly to secure her attention. "Please, be rational, alright?"

"Rational? So now you're calling me—"

"Okay," Will ran a hand through his hair. "Bad choice of words. But Emma, honestly, you're going to be alright when it comes to work. Figgins understands the severity of the situation and wants both of us to have the time we need until it gets better. Things at the school will take care of themselves."

She took a few deep breaths and met his eyes. "Sorry, I overreacted and—"

"It's okay," He laughed a little, bringing her drink back to her lips. "Em, seriously. It's all good. I know you. I know that you need a little convincing sometimes, to be sure of something."

"Sometimes?" She raised a brow, back to smiling.

"A lot of the time," Will chuckled again. "Can I convince you to go to sleep for a little while?"

"Got a hot date?" Emma joked while he pulled her blanket further around her.

"Mm, with an attorney, for you. The guy who did my divorce also does civil suits, so I'm having him look at your case. He said from what I described on the phone, it should be a slam dunk, so you don't need to worry too much about lawyer fees and all that."

"Oh, god...Do I really have to do a trial?"

Will kissed her cheek. "I don't want to have the discussion about that just yet, Em. Just relax and try to have good dreams."

"Thank you, for taking care of this for me...I...Thank you."

He smiled and stroked her hair fondly, "Anything for you, Emma." He pressed a final kiss to her before turning off the light nearest her bed. "I'll be back in a few hours. And I'll spend an extra five minutes in the shower in your honor."

She giggled and sighed, nestling her face into the pillow.

* * *

"What do you mean, plea deal? There's no room for that in this case, that's bullshit!"

"All I'm saying is, this guy is not going to give up. He's got money and he's got really damn good lawyers to see that the money is well used—"

"He's also got about sixty pages of documented evidence and testimony against him! He's not getting away with this, and why are we even worrying about a plea deal now? I think we need to focus on the serious issue of his latest claim, not deal with what he might throw at us in the future."

Will cleared his throat to make his presence known to the group of detectives and attorneys who had gathered in a small lounge at the station, where he was supposed to be meeting his lawyer.

"What's going on?" He asked, nervous as to whether or not he really wanted to know.

"The bastards' throwing us for a loop," A balding man in a bad suit said, standing up and pacing. "He's decided to plead insanity."

"Come on," Will rolled his eyes and huffed, "On what grounds is that even plausible?"

"On the grounds that he has a report from a doctor saying he's been diagnosed with Narcissistic Personality Disorder."

Will rolled his eyes once more. "Didn't know that you needed a diagnosis to be an asshole."

Reeves cleared her throat, sliding documents down his way. "Unfortunately, there is. And this Dr. Wu guy has a lot of supporting information that a jury will eat right up unless we can have it overturned."

Reading from the paper, the curly haired Spanish teacher had to resist all urges to find the doctor and shake him senseless. "'Issues of personal adequacy, power, and prestige,' oh, please. Like, ninety percent of Americans want the same thing! How the hell does he think he can get away with this?"

"Keep reading," She said, taking a sip of her veinte. "It gets more medical sounding. It's just the right pathos that a group of simple-minded citizens will find themselves drawn to, and they'll see Carl as a victim rather than a criminal. This kind of bullshit happens every goddamn day in our so-called _justice_ system."

Will swallowed hard as he read through the reason for Carl's diagnosis, as according to the requirements, the dentist had to meet five of nine possible traits that could lead him to the mental disorder. Grudgingly, Will found himself agreeing with all of them.

'_Has a sense of entitlement...'_

'_Takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends...'_

'_Lacks empathy...'_

'_Shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes...'_

'_Is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love...'_

He shook his head and sighed, resting a hand on his curls. "Yeah, it sounds right, but...It's not...It's absolutely insane that he thinks that being an asshole is a reason he could get away with beating the daylights out of an innocent woman!"

"Our thoughts exactly," The balding detective from the earlier stated. "We want more information on this Dr. Wu character before we accept his results. And then, if he doesn't pass our requirements, we're going to have him retested with one of the district psychiatrists."

"Because like I said earlier, a jury loves to find the victim. We do not want him getting away with what he's done, so we're going to do everything we can to prevent Carl from becoming the label he put on Emma Pillsbury."

"Dr. Wu..." Will wracked his brain as to why the name sounded so familiar when a light went off. "I-I know Dr. Wu. I've dealt with him in the past."

"For what, exactly?" An attorney who hadn't spoken yet asked.

"He, he, um...helped my ex-wife fake a pregnancy."

Suddenly, the room was full of smiles as detectives and lawyers started to talk among themselves, leaving Will to fumble with his hands, trying to push back painful memories.

As hard as the whole process was on Emma, it was starting to take a toll on him.

And while he'd never abandon her, especially in her hour of greatest need; Will knew it was only going to be a matter of time before something happened and one of them ended up hurting the other.

Again.

Shaking these thoughts from his mind, Will stood and slipped silently out of the room, ready to clear his head in the only way he knew how at the present moment.

"I need to speak to Carl Howell, please." He mumbled to a desk manager up front. The young cop, barely awake nodded him through, not bothering to ask for information or put up a fight.

"Well, well. If it isn't the knight in shining armer himself. Will Schuester, to what to I owe the honor?" Carl smirked, stepping close to the bars with his arms crossed.

Will didn't speak, so Carl carried on, trying to rial him up. "You know, I thought about suing you for that punch you threw at me." He tilted his chin up, revealing a fading blue bruise. "Lucky I didn't loose some teeth, although, I imagine I've got a few friends who would have fixed it up real cheap..." He laughed at his own joke before continuing. "Anyway, I decided against it. I remember seeing your piece of shit car when I trailed Emma few times. You wouldn't even be worth the lawyer fees."

After a few minutes of silence and Will attempting to take the place of the alpha male in the room, he spoke. "Take a good look around you, Carl. This is going to be home until you rot, and I'm going to make sure of that. I don't care if you've got Dr. Wu or Stephen Hawking claiming you're insane, I will fight you until you're here, permanently. I'm not going to give up. I'm not going to let down the woman that you worked so hard to bring down."

"Oh," Carl gave another heartless laugh. "You think she's yours now, huh? Think she belongs to you?"

"I don't treat the women in my life like objects."

"But that's why you were so willing to throw your ex-wife to the curb when you found out she lied to you? Or how you never called back Shelby Cochran after your need was filled, until you needed her again? Or the way you let April Rhodes into your life to fill the loneliness, then had her leave so you could go back to normalcy?"

Will shook his head, biting his lip. "Carl, I love Emma. I have no intention of ever making her feel the slightest how she felt when she was with you—"

"Oh," He stepped back, walking back and forth. "Oh, she will feel that way, Will Schuester. She will. You just wait."

"I treat Emma with respect, with dignity, I would never—"

"You just wait until the first time you make a move to touch her. I mean, really touch her. You may think she's enjoying it, but beneath all her squirming and twitching, it'll be _my_ hands she's feeling all over her, not yours. It'll be _my_ mouth on her perfect little tits. It'll be _my_ hands on her shoulders, and my fingers sliding into her pretty little panties. You just wait." He laughed again, "You just wait. Because the first time you go to _fuck_ her, to take her precious virgin blood away from her, it'll be me, forcing my way between you. And it always will be."

Will shook his head and stepped back. "No, Carl. It won't. _You_ just wait. While you're in here, rotting to hell, I'll be with Emma, showing her what real love looks like. Treating her in a way that you will never, ever experience. Not so long as I'm around."

He spun on his heel, attempting to convince himself of the last lines that fell from his lips; because Carl was likely right.

The scars he'd given Emma were far longer lasting than the bruises he left on her face.

* * *

"How'd it go?" Emma asked as Will settled next to her some four hours later. "The look on your face isn't too promising."

He was silent as he took her hand and brushed her hair back, noting she'd likely be asking for it to be washed within the next hour. "I...I debated on whether or not I should tell you what happened the whole way here."

"Oh, gosh..." Her fingers curled around his.

"...It's just...I don't want you more scared and worried than you already are. But, you deserve the truth."

"Will," She whispered, "What is it?"

"Carl, um...he's pleading insanity; which means he's hoping that the jury will buy that he has a mental disorder and let him off."

Emma said nothing, only looked straight ahead before a few tears fell on her gown and she unclasped Will's hand to hide her face in her own as she cried.

"But you know, Em? We're pretty sure the doctor who did the diagnosis is a fake, so we're going to get it figured out, okay? Listen, Emma...look at me, Em."

She did, her watery gaze barely able to focus on him.

"I am going to do everything that I can to make sure he doesn't get away with this. I'm not going to let him get off for what he did to you." Will stroked her side while she continued to let out her frustration. "I'm not going to let this go."

"Will," She mumbled after several minutes of quiet. "I want to go home."

He kissed the top of her head. "I know, Em...It shouldn't be much longer. Your antibiotics have finally started working and your strength is coming back, even if it is in the smallest amounts."

"I want to go home, now. I-I need to get clean and I need...I need to go home."

Fearing another panic attack, Will stood and moved to the hall to speak to a nurse about having a doctor give them an approximate time she could leave.

After a long check up and plenty of forewarnings that this wasn't the best choice they could be making, a doctor cleared Emma for leaving the following afternoon.

"I'm just worried, Em..." Will scooted her over a short while later and curled up at her side. "That you're going to be in so much pain and...I might do more harm than good...I just don't want you hurting any more than you already are."

"Will," She started, "This is going to be better for me, I think. I trust you, Will. Completely. I know you're going to take good care of me. As best you can."

He pressed a soft kiss to her temple, praying she was right.

* * *

Writing the Carl/Will interaction was probably the most on fire I've felt writing this story. It certainly seemed intense to write, hope it was just as much to read.

For those of you who also read _Beautiful Lie_, chapter five has finally been uploaded! This piece had been taking up most of my writing time, but I've managed to squeeze it out. There is also a one-shot of the smut variety that I've been added tonight as well.

Thanks again for all the feedback! It's been truly amazing!


	9. Part IX

"Take it easy, Em," Will coached the bedridden redhead as she took a few deep breaths while a nurse removed her IV line. "Just breathe, it'll be over soon."

"We've got it." The petite woman in scrubs quickly placed a cotton ball over the small hole in Emma's skin and applied an adhesive strip to keep it in place. "You've got a few hours before the effects of the Morphine wear off, but I'm telling you now, the prescription you've got is nowhere near as strong as what we've been giving you here. You're going to feel like real hell pretty soon."

"It's okay," Emma nodded, mostly for her own sake. "I'll take the pain so long as I have the comfort of my own home."

Will stroked her hair for a moment, wishing she'd reconsider. He wasn't prepared to care for her in the state she was in.

"We'll get you in some clothes and have a doctor up here to discharge you within the hour. All your instructions and medication will be provided to you then."

The woman left and Will ruffled through a bag of items he'd swiped from Emma's house until he found a full set of fresh clothing, placing it on her lap. She flushed upon seeing a periwinkle underwear and a white sports bra, embarrassed that Will had gone through her delicates, but thankful he remembered them.

"You're sure you want to go, Emma? We can always tell them you need a few more days."

"I'm sure." She rubbed the cotton material of an old t-shirt between her thumb and forefinger. "I can't thank you enough, Will. For all of this."

"You'll never have to," He smirked, forgetting for a moment what he'd gotten himself into.

Six pages of discharge instructions, four medications, a new outfit and bandages later, Emma was delicately lowered into a wheelchair with Will walking beside her to his small car.

After being lifted in, Will took a deep breath and nodded to the security men who took the chair back inside, mentally preparing himself for the week to come.

Sitting up for the ten minute car ride was rough on Emma's stomach, but she didn't complain as she rubbed the rough surface of her cast, staring out the window.

When they pulled into her driveway, Emma sighed deeply, recalling the events of the last time she was in the home, but brushing them away as Will put the car in park and moved to unlock the door before assisting and carrying her into the house, setting her frame onto the couch and moving once more to grab the remainder of her things, leaving her alone in the room where her abuse had taken place.

Feeling her face flush and eyes move quickly, Emma attempted to keep her own breath steady before Will arrived to calm her down.

She felt her face being pulled forward into his hands and settled considerably. "It's okay, Em. He's not here, he can't hurt you...you're alright. It's just you and me, here. Nothing bad is going to happen. I already cleaned up the mess from the fight and I changed the sheets in your bed, too. I wasn't sure if anything had happened there and I wanted to be safe—"

Emma cut him off by wrapping her unbroken arm around his neck and pulling him close, so their noses were touching.

"You're too good to me," She whispered, closing her eyes as their foreheads met.

"Oh, Em," Will nuzzled her face. "How are you feeling?"

"Better...just...I don't want to be alone here. Not for awhile."

He stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. "How are you feeling physically?"

"Mm, sore. The medicine is wearing off, but...I'm not too worried about it yet. I'm a little hungry, though."

Will pulled himself up and thought through what he'd purchased that morning in preparation for the week. "I've got tons of soups, oatmeal, dairy-free yogurt, noodles, jell-o..."

"Mm, oatmeal would be good."

He let a hand stray on her cheek before standing and passing her the remote. "I'll be back in a few. Stay comfortable, alright?"

Emma nodded and flicked on the television, not caring what was on, just wanting to turn it up so she could moan in pain without Will rushing to her side. It was worse than she had expected it to be, and the hour wasn't even up for the medicine to be depleted from her system.

He returned with a steaming bowl, setting it on the coffee table alongside the majority of the items he'd brought over for himself. "Would it be alright if I put some of this stuff in your bathroom?"

She nodded and explained, "The second drawer to the top, beneath the sink is mostly empty...um...you can just put your shower stuff in the shower, there's a shelf near the top that I can hardly reach, so you could use that...if you want to, there's a few extra hangers at the end of my closet, and the bottom drawer in the tall dresser is just a few summer things, they can be cleared out if you want to put some clothes away."

Will thanked her quietly pressed a kiss to her cheek before handing her the bowl of food and taking his things down the hall, feeling as though he was moving in with his girlfriend...even if he wasn't. Because she wasn't technically his girlfriend, and he wasn't technically moving in.

But, as he placed a toothbrush neatly in the drawer, he smiled to himself. If things weren't too rocky over the next few weeks of recovery, maybe she'd ask him to stay with her to fill all her needs on a more permanent basis.

* * *

"Oh, god, it hurts!" Emma breathed as she tried in vain to clutch her stomach with her good arm, which for the first time in in almost a week, was throbbing like mad.

Will was at a loss for what to do, her medication hadn't kicked in yet and there was nothing they could use to stop the pain. Instead, he decided on lifting her, cautiously, from the couch and moving them to her bedroom, where he laid her in the center and crawled next to her, positioning her small form in his arms and whispering comforting phrases in her ears while she cried.

"Emma," Will sighed, "Sh...it'll be better in just a few minutes..."

She gripped his shirt in pain, gasping as his hand stroked her hip. It didn't hurt...but it elicited emotions she didn't want to have during her recovery stage.

"Will..."

His other hand tangled itself in her hair, which had been washed before she left the hospital. He moved her head to rest on his chest, which rumbled softly as he hummed a familiar tune.

"_You Are My Sunshine?_" She questioned, breathing deeply as she clutched at his buttons. Will nodded, continuing. "My Dad used to sing me that all the time," She whispered.

"It's because it's true." Will continued his ministrations on her scalp and hip. "You light up people's lives. You _are_ my sunshine."

"Even when I can't sit up by myself?" Her body was trembling in pain, but Will looked into her chocolate eyes, and he knew she wasn't breaking.

"Especially then. Occasionally, you have to let someone else take care of you. I'm glad you let me be that person."

A half hour of groaning and cramping later, the drugs were finally starting to kick in. As Emma relaxed, Will felt himself growing weary.

"What do you say we catch some sleep for a little bit? I'll set my alarm for five hours, so you can take your next round of medicine _before_ the effects of this one wear off."

She nodded tiredly while Will pressed a few buttons on his phone and stood, shifting her so he could pull the blankets down.

As he settled her into bed, Will pushed the hair from her face and cupped her cheek. "Do you want me sleeping with you still? I wouldn't mind taking the couch."

"Stay," She mumbled while he climbed onto the mattress and pulled the covers over them. "Can you hold me again?"

He fell comfortably onto her pillow and lightly tugged her frame close to his, sliding an arm behind her neck to stroke her shoulder.

"You're beautiful," He whispered out of nowhere, making Emma's weary face blush.

"Hush," She muttered, snuggling into his chest.

"I mean it. You're so pretty. Gorgeous. I've always thought so."

Raising her eyes, Emma fought to believe him. "Yeah?"

"As you know, I was married at the time. So I had the 'I have a beautiful wife at home,' mantra in my head all day, during our first faculty bonding event. But...I've always thought you were amazing. I just...couldn't always act on that."

"Mm, well, I'm glad you didn't. Nobody likes a cheater. Although, there were times...when things got really," She swallowed, trying to think of the right word to describe some of their intimate moments that shouldn't have been, "...close. Times when, it took all of my power not to act on what was going through my mind."

"Like that time when I was a janitor?" Emma nodded, "Or when we danced in the bridal boutique?" She sighed, gripping his shirt collar.

"It took all of my restraint not to lean up and kiss you," She admitted, "I thought about it for days...sometimes, I still wonder...what it would have been like...what you would have done, if I had acted on impulse."

Will shifted so his face was only inches away from hers, trying to recreate the moment as he took her casted right hand, stroking the part of her thumb that stuck out of the plaster. "I wouldn't have been mad," He confessed, "I actually would have probably responded, seeing as kissing you was all I wanted to do in that moment, too."

Emma cleared her throat, looking away as her cheeks tinted red. "I wonder what it would have been like."

Will raised a brow with a smirk, "Only one way to find out, right?"

He dipped down and Emma closed her eyes to meet his lips, a smile on hers as they connected. Will pulled away for only the briefest of moments before they kissed again, and again. Emma finally tilted her head back to meet his gaze with a bright smile, as it had been the first mutual kiss she'd given since late May.

"Yeah, probably would have been something like that." Will laughed and cupped her cheek. "God, you're so beautiful."

"You already said that," Emma giggled into his hand and sighed contently. "Thank you, though. For not giving in, back then. I'm glad we're starting to get it together. Even if getting there meant a divorce and surgery."

Will added, "But you know what? The lawyer fees been paid off, and you're going to heal. We're going to be fine."

"Provided you don't lose your mind trying to take care of someone as high-maintenance as myself, I think we'll be fine, too."

Emma nuzzled her face into his chest while he leaned to turn off the lamp on her nightstand. "Goodnight, Em. I'll wake you up shortly."

When his phone blared five hours later, Will was pleased to see neither of them had moved from the embrace. Gently, he placed a kiss to her temple and stroked her arm.

"Wake up, Em...time to take some drugs."

She didn't stir physically, but he could tell by the movement of her eyelids and scrunching of brows that she was trying to wake.

"Are you in pain?" He asked softly, receiving a soft grunt of a 'yes' in response. "Okay, relax, I'll be back with the medicine in a few minutes.

She whimpered when he pulled away and stood, quickly shuffling to the kitchen to prepare whatever it was she was supposed to take.

Feeling drained of any energy she'd conserved throughout resting, Emma barely had the motivation to sit up when he returned. Noticing her weakness, Will placed the cup of pills on her nightstand, along with a glass of water, before curling an arm around her back and propping her up.

"You look awful," He sympathetically groaned, popping a pill into her mouth and lifting the glass to her lips. "Ready for another?" He asked as she swallowed, receiving a single nod. "Two more..." Not two minutes after taking the last one, Emma's eyes were shut and body was in sleep mode once more.

"Em," He whispered, tracing a line down the side of her face and sighing.

Deciding he couldn't sleep more if he wanted to, Will moved to find something for himself to eat.

After throwing out produce from the refrigerator that Emma would no-doubt have needed to scrub afterwords, he glanced through the pantry, where the labels of "organic" and "dairy-free" were making him cringe. Apparently, he should have stocked up on food for himself as well.

A phone call and forty minutes later, Finn Hudson stood outside Emma's door, carrying two brown bags. "You know, a lot of people would probably find it strange that I'm standing outside my guidance counselor's house at ten-thirty at night, delivering groceries to my Spanish teacher."

Will laughed and put a hand on his shoulder, inviting him in for a brief moment. "Thank you, Finn. You've been a big help. I don't want to leave Emma alone..."

"Not a problem, Mr. Schue...How, um...how is she doing?" He asked, sitting on the sofa with his elbows on his knees.

"Not so great, but...in a few weeks, hopefully, she'll be back to normal."

Finn cleared his throat, "Almost everyone at school thinks you two eloped and are on a cruise somewhere for your honeymoon. Only the kids in Glee have put the pieces together. I didn't tell any of them, but once they heard the report on the news, and Mercedes' dad worked with that asshole...and you were gone, too...it just...fit."

"What's the news been saying?" Will asked, knowing Emma wouldn't want her name all over the public eye.

"They reported domestic violence, that a man's been jailed and the woman was still recovering. That was about it..."

"Good, I wouldn't want her upset about people knowing. How are things at school?"

The taller of the two rubbed his eyes and sighed, "Well, Rachel kind of took over Glee. Figgins has been sitting in as an advisor. It's not going to horribly, I suppose. Santana and Mercedes and that new chick whose name I can never remember are kind of getting annoyed, but they know that letting her be in charge is what's best for everyone."

Will nodded. "We're still two months away from Sectionals, I wouldn't even sweat it."

Finn continued, "Spanish has turned into study hall, because the lady who was doing it got a call to sub at Washington, and you know they probably pay fifty times what McKinley pays. They've got different teachers in there every day, just making sure nothing gets lit on fire."

A soft call from Emma's bedroom had Will jump to his feet, with a promise of returning momentarily to Finn. He poked his head through the door, surprised to see tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Em," He sighed her name as he sat on the edge of the bed, taking her face in his hands, "Sweetheart, what's wrong?"

"N-nightmare. I'm okay...I was just a little scared when you weren't here."

He ran his fingers along her jaw to comfort her. "I'm sorry...Finn just stopped by with a few things for me. Let me say goodbye to him, and I'll be right back."

"Okay," She whispered, falling back to the pillows.

After ushering Finn out and thanking him repeatedly for bringing something edible over, Will turned his attention back to the redhead, who was glancing at her body with distain.

"Everything feeling okay?" He asked, concerned as she looked almost disgusted.

"No, Will...I...I need to get clean. I need a shower...or something."

He cringed, having not thought through how that would happen.

Emma couldn't stand on her own, she had a non-waterproof plaster cast on one hand, and a row of stitches in her stomach that were likely not supposed to be wet.

"Uh," He sat next to her, pulling the blankets off. "I guess I could bring a stool from the kitchen and wash your hair for you in the sink...and we'll figure it out from there, okay?"

Her face flushed while he stood, thoughts of Will scrubbing her down were more embarrassing than arousing.

"Do you have any energy?" Will asked gently, watching as she tried to sit up.

When lifting her head took effort, he told her to wait, as he brought an off white stool into the bathroom, placing it in front of the sink. After locating her shampoo and conditioner and having a towel ready, Will scooped Emma into his arms and carried her into the bathroom, resting her in the seat, holding her arms when she said she was dizzy.

"Alright?" He asked, crouching in front of her.

"I'll be okay," She breathed, nodding. "I'll be okay."

He tilted her back, resting her neck at the edge of the porcelain sink, then turned the water warm.

Taking a cup from the cupboard, he filled it and soaked her hair, letting his fingers brush through the strands to keep them from clumping together.

"Too hot? Too cold?" He asked, smirking at Emma's contented expression, which told him before she did...

"Just right."

After ten minutes of shampooing and conditioning and rinsing, Will squeezed the water from Emma's hair and brought a towel behind her neck.

He guided her head up and stared her down. "Now, the fun part...I'm thinking you'll have to take a bath, because I doubt you have the energy or coordination to stand on one foot long enough for a shower...We can put a plastic bag over your cast to keep it dry, but your stitches...hm. They're not supposed to soak, I remember that from my own back in the day..."

Emma sighed. "Well, I guess we can sponge it up like in the hospital...although I really, really want to be throughly washed—"

"Oh," Will laughed, "I'll be right back, I've got the perfect idea."

She waited patiently until he returned with a yellow box. Raising an eyebrow, she questioned, "Saran wrap?"

"Should keep them dry, right?"

Emma smirked and shrugged a little. "I suppose..."

An awkward silence fell over the two as they both knew what was coming.

Will cleared his throat. "Well, Em...Unless you can summon the strength to do this on your own...I, um...I'll do my best to avert my eyes, but...you know."

Flushing, Emma looked down. "Um...yeah...I...I'm g-going to need help."

He moved to the bathtub and ran the water until it was on the hotter side, then clogged the drain to let it fill.

Turning to her, Will knelt in front of the redhead, taking her hands and trying to force her eyes to his.

"Don't worry, okay? I'm not...this isn't about how you look, or what I think about you. This is about making you comfortable, and clean is what gets you there."

She continued to avoid his gaze and grow hot cheeks. "This wasn't exactly how I pictured the first time you'd see me na-" She paused, rephrasing, "...see all of me..."

"Tell you what," Will whispered, tilting her chin up. "This doesn't count. If and when we get to that point, it'll be totally different, I promise. This is just me doing something to ease your mind. That'll be something else entirely."

Emma agreed, but was still distressed over what he'd think of her. "I-I'm sorry that...I'm not...I'm not very...well, um...developed, and I haven't had a real shower in a week, so I probably stink, and I'm full of freckles, and—"

"And you're beautiful." He kissed the top of her head and turned around to stop the water before it would overflow. "Like I said, Emma...I'm not...I'm not judging you. And it doesn't matter, because you're gorgeous just the way you are. We already went through that tonight, remember?" He pressed his forehead against hers while she nodded against it. "Okay. I'm going to help you out of your shirt now, alright?"

He started by taking the sleeve of her thermal and working it over her cast until it was off, then the other arm. After lifting it over her head, Will rested it on the countertop and eyed the gauze around Emma's middle.

"How about we take it off while you're in the tub and change it when you're done?"

Emma nodded again and Will removed the cloth, hissing in sympathetic pain as he caught sight of the jagged surgical stitches that held her skin together. "God, Em...I hope it heals okay...I hope that we get this right."

With one last look, he took the cellophane and cut a long strip, wrapping around her middle four times before he was satisfied.

Not wanting her to feel too revealed just yet, Will undid the drawstring of her pajama pants and raised her hips to pull them down.

But after saran-wrapping her cast, he found himself out of clothing to take off aside from her undergarments. With a mental prep talk of convincing himself to keep his pants from tenting, Will motioned for Emma to lift her good arm slightly, to slide the sports bra off.

Her entire body flushed, although, Will recalled, it wasn't the first time he'd seen her upper half...just a week ago, Carl had shown Will what he claimed as his own. But now, Will thought to himself, just who was the one taking care of her?

"It's alright," He whispered in hopes of receding the red. "Emma, you're beautiful. Please, don't feel indecent. It's okay, really...it's okay."

She swallowed hard and visibly stiffened as his hands moved to the waistband of her panties.

"Emma, it's okay..." He continued to remind her, "I'm not going to hurt you...we're doing this to get you washed up, remember? We're not about to do anything you're not ready for, we're just getting nice and clean...it's okay...it's okay."

Tears fell to her nude thighs when Will finally, gently, pulled the remaining fabric from her body. "Emma..."

"I'm sorry," She apologized for nothing. "I'm sorry..."

"Hey, hey, you have nothing to be sorry for." He completely avoided looking at her body and cupped her cheek. "Em, I know...I know what you're thinking about...but just know that I'd never hurt you the way he did. All I want to do right now is help you, if you'll still let me?"

"Yeah..."

"Alright, put your good arm around my shoulders..." She did so and he put one arm behind her knees and cradled her back with the other, taking two giant steps and lowered her as slowly and carefully as possible into the bathtub.

She visibly relaxed as soon as she was submerged, her head resting against wall with a sigh.

"Warm enough?" Will asked, leaning on the edge of the porcelain.

"Yeah...thanks, Will."

He smiled his welcome. "Hang tight, I'm going to find you some pajamas to change into when you're done, alright?"

While he dug through her drawers, Emma practiced a few breathing exercises to keep herself calm. She didn't like baths, it hardly seemed possible to get clean lying in one's own filth, but it was better than the rest of the physical hygiene she'd had in the past week, so it would do.

Will returned with fresh clothing and a towel, offering to soap her up. Emma flushed again, but nodded, pointing to the orchid-scented soap on a shelf that hung from the shower head, and a body puff he could put it on.

"Feel better?" He asked as the water drained almost ten minutes later, as it was starting to cool.

"Yes, thank you...now how do I get out?"

"Uh..." Will thought, pressing his lips together before digging another towel out and spreading it across the kitchen stool, lifting her wet frame, not caring that his shirt would be soaked, and setting her in front of the sink, drying her throughly before helping her into new pajamas.

"Thank you," She mouthed when he pulled her casted arm through a hole of a staff shirt that had been two sizes too big.

"You're welcome. Are you hungry?"

Emma nodded. "Starving."

Will carried her once more, depositing her on the sofa as he ran her through the lame menu once more, before she decided on non-dairy yogurt. After wrestling a wild berry Pop-Tart from it's shiny, plastic confines for himself, Will joined her, watching sadly as she couldn't summon the energy to so much as feed herself. Taking a large bite of his own food, he took the cup from her hand and swirled the blueberry flavored faux-dairy product onto the spoon, making her cry again after she swallowed.

"Em, what is it?" Will asked, rubbing her arm softly.

"I'm...I'm just embarrassed."

He gave her a look and continued to stroke her arms, where the bruises from Carl's vice grips were finally starting to fade. "Don't be...You know this isn't your fault. There wasn't anything you could have done—"

"But there was!" Emma yelled loudly and suddenly, "I could have gotten help! But I was such a coward! And now I'm stuck in this infant like state and it's _all_ my fault, Will!"

"No, no," Will shook his head and swung her legs over his, sliding her gently into his lap so he could wrap her in his hold, where she hid her red, tear stained face from his view. "You were vulnerable and scared. Carl is the coward for taking advantage of that. There is good in this, alright? We caught him before it got really bad. I know this looks really bad, but it could have been so much worse, and..." He swallowed a lump and rested his head against hers. "It pains me to think of the things he could have done to you. But we got him. He's behind bars, and it may not be an easy process, but we're going to keep him there. He can't hurt you or anyone else ever again...and...it's probably really selfish to think of it like this, but now...now I've got you, and I'm going to take good care of you. We're going to grow closer through all of this, too." He kissed her temple and she relaxed, sniffling into his shirt.

"Will you look at me, Em?" He requested and she complied, meeting his gaze. "I wish that these hadn't been the circumstances it took to get us here, but it is what it is. I love you, and because I love you, I'm going to help you in the bath or spooning your yogurt or holding you while you cry. I know you don't like it, and I know it's a little embarrassing that you can't do these things by yourself right now, but you have to know, that I don't see this as a chore or obligation. I'm doing all of this out of my love for you."

At his last words, she broke into a fresh strain of tears, trying to smile through them as she sighed. "I'm so tired of crying."

Will swayed them. "Cry all you need to, Em. Healing takes time. I want you better, more than just physically."

Though tears had dribbled to her lips and she was almost physically incapable of moving, Emma reached her good hand to Will's cheek and leaned her face to his, where he captured her in their most passionate yet chaste kiss to date.

* * *

Two days later had Emma finding the strength to pull herself up, and three after that had her hobbling with Will's support.

"_Just put one foot in front of the other_—" He sang teasingly as she stumbled into his arms, laughing.

She smacked his chest with her uncasted hand and let his arms curl around her to keep her steady. "Hush. I'm trying. I haven't walked in ten days."

Will spun her around and lifted one of her feet on top of his. "What are you doing?" She asked as he performed the same action with the other.

"Teaching you to walk."

Emma continued to laugh, which didn't hurt nearly as much anymore, as Will held her waist while moving his own feet forward. They got about five steps before he leaned too far and wound up on his back with Emma on top of him.

He moaned as his head hit the tiled surface of her kitchen while the rest of him sprawled across the carpet in the hallway, Emma pushing herself with one arm to straddle him, mockingly.

"Now who's the one who can't walk?"

Will crept a hand to her side, poking below her stitches. "I think you're starting to enjoy this way too much."

"I think I'm feeling a lot better."

He stroked her hip, "I think I'm going to have to go back to work on Monday."

Emma pouted, as it was already Thursday. "I think I'll miss you."

"Hey..." He sat up on the carpet, hugging her middle. "I'll be home before five every day."

"Home...you mean _here_?" She raised a brow, surprised he would continue staying even after she was able to maneuver on her own.

Will nuzzled her forehead against his. "I'm not going anywhere until you've made a full recovery...and your bed is warm."

She giggled again, sighing while resting her head on his shoulder as a timer in the kitchen went off. "Time to take some pills."

"Then get dressed, you've got to get to the doctor."

Emma groaned, standing and letting Will lead her to sit on a stool in the kitchen while he pushed a hand full of medication and a glass of water in her direction.

She took them and chugged the water, eyeing a box of oatmeal. "I certainly hope he tells me I can eat real food again."

"Yeah, then you can cook me something." Will winked and moved behind her to receive an elbow to the gut which he responded with by kissing the top of her head and carrying her to the bedroom, with protests of being able to walk, which he ignored.

Laying her across the bed, Will sprawled out next to Emma, resting his head on her shoulder as she had done to him. "I'm going to miss you, too. When I have to go to work...I hope it's not too long before they let you back."

"Me too," She yawned, stretching an arm up and resting it on Will's curls. "I don't know what I'll do without you asking me twenty-five questions every three minutes."

He smiled, the last five days, while full of struggles, tears, and throbbing pain, had also brought them closer together.

As Will had said in the winter of the year before, there were countless things they didn't know about one another. But he was determined to find them all out.

"What's your mom's maiden name?" He asked, leaning into her touch on his hair.

She laughed while responding, barely uttering two syllables. "Are you running out of ideas?"

"Not even close. What was your favorite memory you have of your grandma?" He asked, remembering she'd mentioned the woman passed away shortly before she'd left for Lima.

"Hm," Emma twisted a few strands around a finger. "That's a good question. I don't know...I have lots of good memories of my grandma. She was an amazing woman."

"Must be where you get it from," Will teased.

She sighed, easing herself up, still mindful of the thread that was holding the skin of her stomach together. "I guess," She hobbled to the dresser, opening a drawer of her over-sized jewelry box and pulled out a small chain, turning it over in her hands before showing Will. "This was the first sweater clip I ever got. It was hers, and I always used to take it when I was over." A flashback played before her wide brown eyes, as if the event had happened only the day before.

"_It's just a party, pumpkin. You're not staying here by yourself," Emma's father attempted to convince his eight-year-old daughter to no avail. "Emmie, you can stay close to me...you won't have to hug anyone you don't want to...you don't have to eat the food..."_

_He offered anything that could put her mind at ease before trekking to the car to head north for their family reunion. Only three months after her accident, she was exceptionally sensitive to even the slightest disruption to her daily schedule of clean, calm, expected life. _

"_Daddy," She choked, stepping backwards and shaking her red curls. "I can't."_

_Mr. Pillsbury sighed and moved to the kitchen, where his mother-in-law stood patiently waiting for her youngest grandchild to buckle herself in the car._

"_Let me try, dear. Sometimes it's easier to listen when it's not mom or dad yapping..."_

_The gray-haired woman's heels clicked on the tile as she made her way to the hall. "Hello, Emma...I'm glad to see you today."_

"_No you're not," Emma looked away and curled her small hands into fists. "You're just here to tell me I have to go...I can't, Gran'ma...I can't."_

"_You can't do what you think you can't do, Emma. But you can do what you think you can do."_

_The little girl remained firm in her belief. "I can't."_

"_Look at me, Emmie."_

_She refused, and in a bold movement at the given time, the grandmother cupped the little girl's cheeks and forced her to look the similarly-hued irises of her elder dead-on._

"_You have been deeply wounded, but it doesn't have to stay that way. You're never going to get better if you don't try, if you don't believe you can. The only way you're ever going to get past this is by knowing that deep inside you, there is the power to change...to go back to normal Emma life. Don't you want that?"_

"_Normal life..." Emma trailed off slightly, "Normal life has germs. And messes."_

"_That's all apart of it, my dear." _

"_It's scary," She whispered, ducking her head down._

_The older woman refused to take that for an answer. "Yes, yes it is. But you're brave. You've been brave before...all you need to do is find something that makes it easier to get through a rough spot...hold onto it, and let it lead you to something that will make you into the beautiful lady I know you're going to grow up to be."_

_Emma bit her lip, staring at the gold chain that connected two roses on either side of her grandma's cardigan to avoid eye-contact. "Like what, grandma?"_

"_What do you think?"_

_The red-headed woman caught sight of what her mentally-ill granddaughter was looking at and felt a light switch on in her brain. Standing up straight, she undid the hooks that kept the gold in place._

"_Gran'ma, what are you doing?" Emma questioned while the older woman attached the sweater clip to the eight-year-old's dress. Once it was secure, she kneeled, not concerned about the arthritis in her knees, only reassuring her youngest heir._

"_Okay, Emma. You see this? It's yours now. I know you've always liked it...but I want you to wear it, especially today. Every time you start to get that nervous feeling," She rested a wrinkled hand on the little redhead's stomach, "Right here, I want you to reach your hand up, and hold onto the chain. Remind yourself that you are a strong little girl, and you can get yourself through a little mess. Can you do that for me?"_

_Emma glanced down at the roses on her pink dress. After pondering the suggestion for several moments, she nodded. "I'm going to try, gran'ma. I'm going to try to be brave."_

_The grandmother smiled and stood, not wanting to traumatize the little girl with a kiss. Rather, she nodded her to the car, watching out of the corner of her eye as the youngest Pillsbury grabbed the chain and took a deep breath before following._

Will felt a smile on his own lips as Emma told the story, fingering the chain. "So they're your favorites, then, right?"

"Honestly?" Emma smirked and limped to her collection once more, pulling a familiar one into her palm, displaying it for him to see.

His vision grew foggy when he noticed it was the chain he'd picked up for her over the summer. "This is my favorite," She whispered, standing next to him and placing the turquoise flowers in his hand. "They were given to me by the person who never gave up on me, just like my grandma...but this...this one meant so much more to me. You see, my b-boyfriend, at the time..." She sighed, moving yet again to pull the Tiffany box she'd received from Carl off her dresser, "He gave me this," Will's eyes grew wide as he noticed the label and saw the diamonds on the silver chain. "But, he didn't have a good reason to get it for me, other than to compete with the sweater clips and try to put something on me to own me. In fact, I don't even like this necklace."

To demonstrate, Emma dropped it in the trash with a satisfied smirk, not even the lightest concerned that she'd just placed a two thousand dollar piece of jewelry in the garbage.

"It doesn't mean anything to me. This," Her hand closed over his as she continued to explain, "This sweater clip means the world to me. It was given to me by the person who loves me the most in the world," Emma paused, tears shimmering in her own eyes as she confessed what Will longed to hear for so long, "...By the person I love most in the whole world."

* * *

Oh, the fluff. Sorry for the longer delay between this and the last update. I was lacking motivation for this chapter.

Next time: Carl and Sue are back in the picture...it isn't going to be an easy trial. I'll be watching SVU marathons to try and understand the legal process behind domestic violence. Again, I'm not a lawyer, all I've got is my best interpretation of the system. I hope I do it justice! ...oh, that was awful.

Feedback is always greatly appreciated!


	10. Part X

"All your medication is on the counter, and I set the timer for the first round, which is at eleven, and—"

"Will," Emma cut him off as he laced a blue-stripped for his first day back to work in over two weeks. "I know. I'll be fine." He sighed and she stood from the bed to tighten the satin knot near his throat, wrapping her arms around his middle in the process. "I'll just miss you, is all."

He slid his fingers through her hair, breathing in the scent of her shampoo. "I'll miss you too. And I'll be worrying about you all day."

"If something goes wrong, or doesn't feel right, I'll call you, okay?"

Will nodded and Emma pulled away, missing his embrace immediately.

"I'll call at lunch if I don't hear from you before then." He took her hand and walked to the door, "Promise me you'll take care of yourself?"

She squeezed his palm tightly against her own, leaning up to kiss his cheek. "I promise."

Taking his briefcase and sliding his Hushpuppies on, Will glanced down at Emma one more time, kissing her cheek and whispering goodbye on his way out the door.

Emma bit her lip as he left, willing herself not to cry. He had to go back to work, and it would only be three weeks before she was allowed to return as well.

As she flopped on the couch, clicking through channels to discover nothing but reruns of _CSI_ and Al being his usual obnoxious self on the _Today_ show.

With a heavy, dramatic sigh, she flipped to her side and pulled a blanket around her form.

It was going to be a long three weeks.

Will averted his gaze from students and faculty members alike while he followed a familiar path to his principal's office, where Figgins was expecting a report on Emma's condition.

"Glad to have you back, William...how's she doing?"

"Better," He responded, rubbing his palms on his jeans as he avoided eye-contact with the dark-skinned man. "She's healing well. Doctor said she can return three weeks from today."

"And what is the status on her abuser?"

Will hated the word, but confessed, "He's in jail now, and the trial starts next week. I know Sue and I are going to have to testify, but I'd like to be there for Emma throughout the entire thing, if that's possible. She's scared and worried that he's going to get off...And being in the same room as him is _not_ going to be good for her."

Figgins cleared his throat and folded his hands together. "These are very strange circumstances, Schue. On one hand, I need you here, to take care of my students. On the other, I need you taking care of one of my faculty members. I'm going to let you go with her, but I need you in your classroom when the trial is not in session. I understand how much you care for her, but you've got a responsibility here, too."

"I know...thank you," Will said, standing to check on the condition of his classroom after being away for two weeks.

"And Shue?" Figgins had one brow raised and a smirk on his face. "You've got a really great group of kids. I'm glad we decided to keep the Glee Club around for another year."

Will, both too proud and thankful to speak, nodded his thanks and left for the classroom.

Halfway through the day, he called Emma, but began panicking when she didn't reply. After three more attempts, he decided to spend his lunch hour driving to her condo, where he found her passed out on the couch, the timer beeping endlessly in the kitchen.

He shook her shoulders, shouting, "Wake up, Em!"

Her eyelids fluttered, but Will's heart rate didn't slow as she took in large gulps of air, struggling to breathe.

Her large brown eyes were unfocused and it took all of his effort not to cry at the sight of her so out of control.

"Emma, it's me, it's Will...come on, Em, I need you to breathe with me. Carl's not here, he wasn't here...he can't hurt you, sweetheart. It's just you and me...come on, now..."

After what felt like an eternity, Emma took a deep breath and fell back against the armrest, cringing in pain. "Will?"

"Hang on, let me get your medicine."

He returned to find her eyes still fluttering about the room, trying to process what happened.

"Emma, Carl is not here. He wasn't here. You were just having another nightmare," He told her, popping a pill in her hand which she washed down with a glass of water.

"It was so real," She whispered, clutching his neatly pressed shirt with her fist, then realized, "Why are you here? You should be at school—"

"I'm on lunch. You weren't answering your phone, and I was worried. I'm glad I came," He admitted, stroking her hair.

Emma blew her bangs up. "I'm sorry. I didn't even hear the alarm go off...I must have been really living it...god," She cried, suddenly hid her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking. "He was on top of me...against the wall...only, only you didn't come...and..."

Will brought her close, snuggling his nose into her neck. "It's okay. I did come. He will never be able to do that to you, Em."

She pulled away, eyes misty, but a smile present on her face. "You must be hungry. Let me make you a sandwich—"

"I'm fine. Just relax. Let me hold you for the next twenty or so minutes before I have to go back."

Agreeing to his suggestion, Emma sat forward so he could crawl behind her, rubbing her shoulders until she laid back in his hold. with his arms wrapped around her stomach, below her stitches, and her hands resting over his.

"I was thinking we should do something—"

Her cellphone disrupted Will's idea, and Emma cringed upon seeing the now familiar number of her new lawyer — one the county provided that specialized in domestic cases. "Hello?" She questioned nervously.

"Miss Pillsbury? This is Marie Sinkolski. I'm calling because I have the date for the preliminary hearing. It's this Thursday morning at ten. I would like to meet with you before then."

Emma sucked in a breath and closed her eyes. "Um, okay...wh-when? And where?"

"Well, I know you're still recovering, so I'll come to you. How about tomorrow night, around six?"

She nodded, then remembered the woman at the other end of the line wouldn't be able to see her head movement. "T-tomorrow sounds fine. Thanks, Marie."

"You're welcome. Don't stress, Miss Pillsbury. Things are going to be in your favor, I'm sure of it."

Ending the conversation, Emma leaned back into Will's chest with a moan. "The lawyer's coming tomorrow night."

"I'll be here, don't worry. She's just going to give you advice and run you through the process, I'm sure."

Emma was quiet for a few moments before stating, "You're so calm and supportive. I really love that about you. It's what makes you a good teacher."

Will smirked and held her a little tighter. "Speaking of being a good teacher...I should probably go back to work so I can be one."

She shifted in his arms so she was gripping him tighter. "I don't want you to leave me."

He kissed the top of her head and moved to stand. "I wish I didn't have to either, but Figgins said I can do all the courtroom stuff with you, so I don't want to push my luck. I'll be back in less than five hours, okay?" He moved the alarm from the kitchen to the living room, setting it on the coffee table. "This is just incase I'm not back, but I will be."

Emma followed him to the door, hugging him tight. "Thanks for coming to take care of me."

Will returned the hug with a toothy grin, pulling away to see the sincerity in her eyes. "Of course, Emma. Try and have a better afternoon."

* * *

"It's just the preliminary hearing, you won't even be asked to testify—"

Emma sighed as she interrupted the attorney, who was seemingly patient with her client. "I just...what are they even going to be doing? Do I have to be there?"

Marie crossed her legs on the living room couch, where she sat at one end, while Emma was wrapped in Will's embrace at the other. "In the preliminary hearing, all evidence will be presented, including the testimony of the first responding officer, and two doctors that operated on you, along with their findings...which does include images of your surgery and face after the fact. The court will decide if there is reason to believe, with the evidence that Carl assaulted you. If there is, we will go to an official trial, with a full jury."

"Oh, gosh..." Emma moaned, "Isn't there an easier way?"

The asian woman smiled sadly, shaking her dark locks. "I'm afraid not. But Miss Pillsbury, this case is pretty sound—"

"But he's pleading insanity! The jury's going to let him get away—"

"Emma," Marie said, using her first name to capture the guidance counselor's attention, "I'm not going to let that happen. The detectives have been working very hard to get to the bottom of it all, and they're pulling through. You've got a whole team behind you, and we're not dropping this. Carl will not be walking out of that courtroom a winner. That will be you, and we're going to make sure of it. The Assistant District Attorney is doing the opening at this hearing, and he's completely on your side."

After reading off a list of procedures and reminding Emma of the time, Marie dismissed herself, leaving Emma to choke back a panic attack.

Will encouraged her to stand up. "You know what?" Her worried eyes met his while he chuckled, "You've been walking for days, and we haven't danced yet."

Suddenly, she was beaming and tossed her arms around his neck. "I almost forgot," Emma smiled while pressing her face into his shirt.

"Let me go turn on the stereo—"

"No," Her voice was full of a desperate need to stay as close to him as possible, "Will...sing."

He pressed his lips together, pondering what she might like to hear. Slowly, he started to sway them, mindful that Emma's ankle was still mildly sensitive. He took her unbroken hand in his while the casted one held his neck. His words filled her ears and her smile was unwavering as she moved her thumb along his wrist.

"Carl never danced like this with me," She motioned to their position, "And I never let Ken..." Emma confessed, while Will hummed a little before starting the next verse. "I know it sounds stupid, but...I think...I think it's kind of a symbol, that you're the only one I really wanted."

"It's not stupid," He whispered, bringing his forehead to rest on hers as they'd done the second time they danced.

Only this time, he wasn't going to let a little confession stop him from pursuing the greatest relationship in his life.

"I love you," Will reminded Emma as they slowed down and he pulled her as close to him as physically possible. After a soft kiss, Will asked, "Can you try not to think about Thursday? I don't want you all stressed out."

"I'll try," Was her quiet response, but she knew that it was going to be all but impossible to avoid the thoughts of seeing Carl's face again.

* * *

On Wednesday, Emma did not want to be touched.

When she awoke at three-thirty from a nightmare induced panic, her body was crawling with the touch of Carl's hands along her shoulders, the way his mouth had fallen to her chest, and his fingers had dipped below her underwear—

"Emma," Will groaned when she pulled away from his hold, twisting to dangle her legs over the side of the bed while she rested her head in her hands. "Em—"

"I'm fine, go back to sleep," She replied monotonously, closing her eyes in discomfort as a bead of sweat dripped down her neck.

"Was it another nightmare?" He tried to move towards her, but the redhead stood, moving to the bathroom without a word.

Will was in a daze when she exited some forty minutes later, hair wet and body red from a steaming shower.

He shook the sleep from his brain and followed Emma to the living room, where she curled up on the couch in nothing but a towel, staring blankly into the darkness of the hallway.

"Em? Let's get you into some clothes, alright?"

When she didn't respond, Will moved forward to shake her arm, which lead to a loud, "No!"

"Hey, it's just me, it's Will...I'm not going to hurt you—"

"Go away."

Will shook his head and knelt in front of her. "You need to—"

"Just go back to bed. I'm fine."

His expression grew disappointed as he tried one more time to have her join him, placing a hand on her cheek, which she turned away from.

"I want to be left alone."

"Okay. I'll leave you alone...just...why don't you go back to your bed, I'll take the couch—"

"You have to work in the morning. Go back to bed. I'm fine."

He sulked back to her room, trying to figure out what had gone wrong in her sleep. He wanted nothing to do with leaving her alone, but knew that she was entirely too sensitive to continue being pestered.

When Will awoke two hours later, he was slightly crushed to see the bed remained empty, and when he quickly shuffled to the living room, he found Emma still wrapped in a towel and mindlessly staring, catatonic like, into the quiet of her condo.

He moved in front of her unfocused eyes and slowly moved his fingers to take her face in his hands, earning a sharp intake in breath as Emma slid herself backwards.

"Look at me, Emma, it's Will. Just Will. Carl is not here. He has not been here, and he will not be here. He can not hurt you. I'm here to take care of you—"

"Go away."

He sighed, frustrated, "What is it? I can't help you if I don't know what's wrong—"

"Go away."

Running a hand through his hair in attempt to remain calm, Will sat next to her on the sofa, fixing his eyes on the spot Emma was engrossed in.

It was the exact spot on the wall that she'd been pressed up against when he arrived on the scene.

"Oh, Emma..." He was sure he hadn't heard her, but her attention seemed to be drawn from the place when the timer in the kitchen went of, signifying it was time for another dose of pain medicine. "Sweetheart, you've got to take this," Will said calmly moments later, four pills and a glass of water in hand. "Come on, Em."

"I can take care of myself," She muttered, eyebrows knitting together while she opened her palm for Will to drop the pills into.

Neither made a sound or an attempt move when she had swallowed the capsules, Emma's attention drawn back to the wall.

"Come here," Will finally said, extending a hand, which Emma glared at and stood, making no motion of wanting to take it.

But she followed him to the bedroom, where he pulled a pair of pajamas and delicates, gesturing for her to put them on while he turned away, ruffling through a drawer for his own clothing.

After pulling on a pair of khaki pants and a t-shirt that he would wear beneath his button-up, Will was determined to spend the rest of the morning trying to coax feelings out of Emma.

"Okay," He sat on the edge of the bed next to the guidance counselor, mindful to leave space between them. "What's going on?"

"I can't do it, Will." Her large brown orbs seemed wider than ever as she stared a hole into the carpet, but he was thankful some part of her had snapped from the trance she had been in as she started opening up. "I can't do it. I can't see him. I can't."

He slid his hand down his leg, trying to think of what he could say to comfort her. "Emma, sweetheart...I know how hard it is. I know how much you're hurting right now, how this is effecting you. But I'll be there, the whole time tomorrow. Sue, too. There'll be cops and he'll be handcuffed...there is no way he could hurt you."

"Not physically," Emma acknowledged, toying with the ties of an afghan at the edge of her bed. "But...he's going to mess with me. He's going to get under my skin and make me think things, feel things...see things...I can't do it."

"Yes you can. You're so strong, Em. I'm so impressed with the strength you've demonstrated over the past few weeks. I really mean that. I think that your anxiety is probably going to be pretty high tomorrow, and maybe you should take your medication before you go into the court room so you can relax a little—"

Her head snapped and her face grew angry. "The court is not a place that I plan on _relaxing_, Will."

He opened and closed his mouth, but shook his head instead of speaking while he stood, hunting for a tie. "I think I'm going to do what you've been asking me to for the past two hours and leave you alone. I don't want to argue with you or upset you any more than I already have, so I'm just going to leave—"

Will was silenced by a muffled cry as Emma attacked him, tossing her arms around his waist and snuggling her face in his chest while sobs shook her body.

"Okay, okay," He inhaled and slowly put his arms around her, as if she would break if he touched her too quickly.

Her mood was unpredictable and he didn't want to start another mindless episode like she had been in.

"Don't leave, I'm sorry," Emma hiccuped while Will took a close look at her, clearly confused. "I'm so scared and...anxious...and...I can't stop seeing him, hearing him..._feeling_ him..."

"I think," Will started, rubbing her back gently, "That after the trial, we need to get you to a psychiatrist. I can only do so much for you, Em. I love you, and I want to help you, but unfortunately, I just don't know how." She shook her head against him, but Will refused to discuss it. "We'll talk more about it later, alright? I really have to get to work."

* * *

Emma's breathing became rapid as she clutched Will's arm tightly upon entering the courtroom the following morning.

"You can do this," He whispered, pressing a firm, reassuring kiss to her forehead. "He's not even in here yet."

"Oh, god..."

Moving them quickly to a seat, Will settled Emma closest to the outside isle on the prosecution side, where she'd be furthest away from her attacker.

After five long minutes of breathing exercises and meaningful phrases to keep her calm, the bailiff escorted the defense to their seats. Will glared hard at Carl as he was lead in handcuffs to sit at the front table on the left side. Emma didn't look up, but knew he was in front of her. Rather, she kept her eyes locked on the floor, her bottom lip sucked between her teeth and hand gripping Will's so hard, it was white.

"He's not looking over here," Will whispered, while a man in a suit announced for everyone to rise upon the entrance of the judge, who then told the gathered audience to take a seat.

The assistant district attorney began, calling Carl to the stand, where he held a sadistic smirk and took a glance in Emma's direction when he happily pleaded, "Not guilty."

"We have a sufficient amount of evidence that says otherwise," The ADA sneered, excusing Carl to take his regular seat while he began filing evidence and asking doctors to speak on their findings, showing a few photographs of Emma's sustained injuries, which made Will flinch and Emma flush with embarrassment, hiding her face in her hands.

The affair was made short as the judge quickly ruled that there was enough evidence to continue, and as Carl's arraignment had already been made to keep him from fleeing, the start date for the official trial was scheduled for a week from the next day.

Carl spared another look in Emma's direction as he left the courtroom, one that she caught and promptly stopped breathing after.

"It's okay," Will rubbed her arm, "It's okay, Em. He's going back to rot where he belongs."

"C-can we go?" She finally breathed out while Will took her hand and assisted her. The ADA stopped them before they could get out the door.

"From the looks of things," He had a satisfied smile on his face, "We'll wrap this up quickly. Our internal analysis of Dr. Wu's so called 'testing' of the defendant has proven successful, he was nothing short of a fraud. He'll be on the stand himself once this is over. We're hoping the judge throws out the former insanity plea upon deliverance of our findings, and we'll be able to convince a jury of what really happened. That said, Miss Pillsbury, I'm going to need you to testify on Friday of next week."

Emma's eyes grew wide and hands clammy. "Sh-shouldn't Will and Sue's be enough? What about all that evidence?"

"The jury is still going to want to hear what happened. I know it's going to be difficult for you to do, but it's only going to win them over that much more when they see what an affect this whole thing has had on you."

She nodded while the man left with a reassuring smile and a promise that her lawyer would be in touch to go through what kind of questions she'd be asked.

"Let's get you home, hm?" Will raised a brow. Emma nodded and blinked fast, experiencing tears after the event.

"Actually...I kind of want to go out," She muttered, mopping her eyes with the back of her hand. "I've been cooped up for weeks. I want to go...live a little."

Will sucked in air, "Em, I've got to get back to work this afternoon." When her face fell, he made a deal, "Tell you what, after school's out, we're going to take a walk in the park, okay?"

"Okay," Emma nodded, feeling a little brighter for the first time in what was going to be a month of the ordeal at the next phase of the trial, the stress and anxiety she'd felt the day before significantly diminishing upon thoughts of spending the evening with the man her heart wanted. "But only if you promise me something."

"And what would that be?" Will asked, pressing his forehead against hers while they stood in front of his car.

She beamed up at him, taking both his hands. "I want tonight to be our first _official_ date."

The Spanish teacher grinned back, rubbing his nose against hers in an eskimo kiss, "I think I could make that happen."

* * *

Some filler for now, but...next time: a date, the trial continues, and Carl's lawyers have something up their sleeve that will mess with Emma's mind.

Thank you all so much for reading! Throughout the summer, I have received a number of messages with prompt requests, and I sadly declined most of them because I've had too much to write already. Now, one lucky reader is going to have their prompt filled as a little appreciation from me for all the great response that I've had for this story. (_It was going to be reader 270, but I made the mistake of telling Madamesayswhat about my idea, and I found my inbox exploding minutes later as she tried to scam the system...cheaters never win, but I love you a lot anyway.)_

One random reviewer this chapter will have something written especially for them! If I could write something for everyone who has taken the time to read, I would, but sadly, I just don't have that kind of time. That said, I am extremely grateful for each person who has taken the time to read and review this story! There's only two chapters left, so thanks for sticking with it! Your feedback is what has been driving this story!


	11. Part XI

Will was floored upon seeing Emma in nothing but a pair of dark wash, skinny jeans, a snug-fitting, light pink sweater that tied at her waist and a pair of hot pink converse which Will would have never guessed she owned.

"I like this look on you, Em."

She flushed while he quickly scrambled out of his shirt and tie, slipping into a white crew-neck and finding his periwinkle sweater that she liked so much to go with it.

"You know," Emma pressed her lips together in an uncharacteristic moment of feeling flirty. She ran her hands up the shirt Will had just put on, suddenly bold, "I like this look on you," She gestured to his abs which were revealed only slightly, "Even more than I like the periwinkle."

Will groaned a laugh, pulling her close and kissing the spot below her ear on her neck. "There will be plenty of time to see that look later." He pressed a second kiss to the location and whispered, "_Whenever_ you're up for it," He stressed the whenever, wanting Emma to be sure he wasn't expecting any sort of physical intimacy for as long as she needed time to prepare. "For now, we've got a real date to get to."

Sliding her hands down, Emma tugged Will's sweater, smoothing the blue-hued fabric before letting a gentle smile wash over hear facial features. "Ready?" She asked, taking his forearm gently and letting her eyes light up in excitement.

They opted to drive to the park, saving Emma's ankle from becoming sore before they really started their date. Will hadn't had time to plan anything exciting, but he figured a walk through the autumn leaves with his arm around the waist of the love of his life would be more than enough.

He opened her car door, smiling as she took an individual pack of wipes and a small bottle of hand sanitizer from her purse, stuffing them in her pockets with a, "Just in case," To which Will replied with a smile and took her hand.

They strolled in comfortable silence for the better part of ten minutes, watching kids ride past them on bikes or runners fly by, their breath short. At some point, Will's arm slid from Emma's hand to around her hip as he'd hoped it would, and she leaned into him slightly.

"You're beautiful," He whispered while a breeze tossed her hair around slightly. "And I couldn't be happier to finally be with you."

No matter how many times he had uttered the words over the course of the few weeks of recovery, Emma always found them reassuring. Will loved her, endlessly, completely.

"Can you kiss me?" She begged shyly, desperate for his lips on hers to seal his promises.

"You never have to ask, Em," He murmured while dipping his head to meet hers, softly pressing his mouth against hers, a bit surprised when she parted her lips, feeling she'd still be sensitive towards anything more than long embraces and short kisses.

His tongue slid to meet hers and she sighed softly, her knees weak as she melted into him. Sensing her muscles feigning, Will tightened his grip around her waist, thusly increasing the intensity of their kiss.

"Mm, Will," Emma sighed while pulling away, nestling her face into the softness of his sweater.

His head fell to rest on hers while they focused their gazes on a pond in front of them that had its fountain shut off and browning leaves floating on the surface.

Out of seemingly nowhere, Emma moved her lips to kiss his adam's apple. "You're everything I've ever wanted."

"You're everything I've ever _needed_," Will responded, tilting her face up for another mind-blowing kiss.

After the remainder of their walk, filled with narrative of the latest drama at McKinley, the couple ended their date at the same coffee shop where Emma realized what an amazing man she had in front of her.

The night ended quickly, neither knowing how they still had so much to say to one another after spending three entire weeks in one another's company, but as Will tugged a blanket around them, curling Emma's fingers together in his while positioning his head on her — _their_ — pillow, she smiled into a kiss on his cheek, giggling softly. "I usually don't sleep with a guy on the first date, you know."

He laughed lightly, too. "I must be pretty special then, huh?"

Emma closed her eyes and her smile stayed present while she dozed against his shoulder. "You have no idea."

* * *

"Oh, God...oh, God..." Emma scrunched her face tightly as the official trial began the following Friday. She waved her face with her uncasted hand, trying to remain calm and in control, but as the judge walked in and all were called to rise, she found herself letting out a horrible squeak as she toppled back into her seat.

Will sat with her, not concerned with proper court etiquette as he pressed his face against her hair, whispering comforting phrases over and over as those in attendance took their places once more.

After opening statements from lawyers, the prosecution first called Carl to the stand to give his take on the whole situation.

"Carl Howell, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"

"So help me, God," He smirked, glaring in Emma's direction.

The Assistant District Attorney started with an option for the former dentist, "Carl Howell, your plea of Not Guilty in association with pleading insanity has already been revoked as proven fraud by an internal investigation. How do you now plead?"

"Not guilty."

Emma gripped the top of Will's leg in attempt to keep calm as the words fell from her abuser's lips. Her touch was electric, and it took all of his effort not to let the curling motion of her fingers near his pelvic bone send blood rushing where it should not have been in such a situation.

"Emma, he's not getting away with it." Will slipped his hand into the one tracing nervous patterns on his leg to distract her. As his thumb brushed across her wrist, Emma's shoulders slumped slightly, indicating she was relaxing.

They turned their attention back to the front of the room, where the ADA began questioning "How did you meet Emma Pillsbury?"

Carl cleared his throat, but the arrogant smirk on his lips stayed present when he explained, "She was a patient of mine. Came in four times a year."

"And do you make a habit of dating your patients?"

"Objection!" The defense lawyer leapt to his feet, but the judge waved him down, clearly formulating an opinion of Carl Howell before he'd even heard the full story.

"Sustained. Answer the question, Dr. Howell."

"I can't really recall if I've seen any of my patients before. There's a lot of women in this world, Mr. ADA, and I've seen quite a few of them."

Giving up on the topic, the attorney tried another approach, "Tell us why you first started becoming physical with Miss Pillsbury."

"Physical? Hell, the woman wouldn't let me get within a foot of her without flipping out. There wasn't any sex, and I had to initiate every touch or kiss I could steal."

"And why do you think that was?"

Carl leaned back, exposing Emma's secret for the entire court to hear, "She's a virgin. A thirty-year-old virgin. She was nervous, and that's to be expected, but she's got some mental problems, too. I was only trying to help her open up to a world of intimacy that she'd never experienced before."

"And opening her up to intimacy meant grabbing her arms inappropriately, forcing her to the couch or wall when she said she wasn't interested in the type of intimacy you wanted to share with her, slapping her across the face, stalking her, blocking numbers from her phone, verbally assaulting her, breaking her arm, spraining her ankle, and kicking her profusely until the point of internal bleeding? How is that intimacy, Carl?"

"It's Dr. Howell," He sneered, gripping his knee caps, "And the only reason I did those things was because she was trying to leave me, and I wanted to make sure she knew she was mine."

Emma hid her face in Will's shoulder, embarrassed that the entire room knew she was afraid of sex, and still horrified that Carl had considered her nothing more than his property.

After nearly fifteen torturous minutes of Carl walking through their disaster of a relationship, Sue and Will were called separately to give the testimony of the scene they'd walked in on. When it was Will's turn to speak, Emma had gripped his hand tightly, not wanting him to leave her side for even a moment.

Thankfully, Sue, who had just been asked to leave the stand, took his place, winding one arm around the bench, behind Emma's head, while the other rested on the redhead's shaking palms. Without bothering to asses the awkwardness or out of character actions of the woman, Emma relished the comfort she provided.

Physical evidence from Emma's surgery was called in when Will returned to his seat, relieving Sue, who had given Emma's hands a reassuring squeeze.

"The prosecution would like to call Emma Pillsbury to the stand," the ADA said loudly, causing the guidance counselor to shake visibly. With a reassuring half-hug from Will, she made her way to the wooden chair at the front of the room, where she fidgeted with her hands in her lap. "Miss Pillsbury, could you please confirm how you and Dr. Howell met?"

She cleared her throat and kept her eyes focused on Will, who gave her a reassuring nod. "I-I was...a patient of his. He called me to the back one day when I was really upset, and he asked me out."

"And why did you say yes to his request?"

Emma sighed deeply, rubbing the plaster on her arm. "I was in need of a good distraction. I thought we'd be going on a few dates and that would be it...but..."

"How were the first few dates?"

"A little awkward...I wasn't from his social class, so it was different and uncomfortable. I had every intention of calling it off, but I was intimidated by him."

"And why was that?"

Emma fiddled with the hem of her knee-length skirt, swallowing hard. "He just...came across so...forceful. Especially when we'd come back from a date...I tried to tell him I wasn't...ready, for what he wanted...but he was always forcing himself on me. Literally, he'd push me into the couch and..." She paused hard, making eye-contact with Will, who have her another gesture to continue. "He'd touch me, put his hands up my shirt and my skirt, and kiss me all the time. If I tried to stop, or didn't want to do something, he'd grab my upper arms and force me into whatever it was."

The ADA walked slowly past her, giving her an encouraging smile to let her know she was giving the right information to the jury. "When did things escalade?"

"I-In July," Emma stuttered, eyes closing upon the memory of being shoved against Carl's door while he twisted her arm behind her back. "He knew that I wasn't ready to take our relationship to the next level and—"

"By 'level' you mean having intercourse, correct?"

Emma murmured that he was correct while her cheeks flushed furiously as the room knew her secret. "He had me come over one night and tried to get me into his bedroom. I told him I didn't want to, and he shoved my face into a wall and..." She swallowed hard again, trying to keep her cool, "He twisted my arm behind my back...and I was crying, and telling him he was hurting me, so he let go...and I fell...he went upstairs and said he'd be waiting, but I ran out of the house and called a cab to come pick me up."

The ADA continued, sensing Emma was close to melting down on the stand, trying to pluck as much of the story out of her as he could.

"Did he give you a reason, besides sex, why he continued to batter you?"

Emma bit her lip, unsure if telling the jury about Will would win them over. "M-my best friend is a male, his name is Will. Carl didn't like our friendship, which was nothing more than friendship at the time. He didn't want me around Will, deleted his number from my phone, blocked him from being able to call me...and when I had seen Will one day, which Carl had been following me, and I hadn't known it...He, um..." Emma picked at her fingernail while trying her hardest not to cry. "He shoved me on the floor, and he hit me."

"How did he hit you, Emma?"

Trying to clear the lump in her throat did no good as a few tears slid down her cheeks. Keeping her head bowed, she whispered, "He slapped me across the face...Really hard. I had bruises...and...he made me say...that...that I belonged to him...and trying to end it would do no good."

"Detectives found a key in Dr. Howell's belongings that opened your house. Did you ever give him a key?"

"No, he told me he made it himself so he could get in whenever he wanted to," She cried lightly, wiping the tears from her eyes while trying to keep as calm as possible in the situation. "He would come in, all the time, even if I had told him...not to, and he'd touch me...and hit me...and grab me, and go through my things..."

The ADA held onto the rail in front of Emma for the briefest of moments while she collected herself, "Alright, just a few more questions and we'll be done," He said softly. "Miss Pillsbury, what happened the evening that Dr. Howell was brought into custody?"

She sniffed but found the strength to respond, knowing that the truth would have Carl locked up for a long time. "Will and Sue had figured out what happened earlier in the day, as they told you...and they were going to help me confront Carl when he would come over after work. I was going to end things with him, and they were going to be there to support me and convince him not to come back."

"Why weren't the police called?"

Emma sighed. "I was embarrassed. I...I wanted to, I thought I could handle it all on my own...but, it turned out that Carl had been following me, again...and I tried to call his work, and they told me he didn't work on Thursdays...and then he came into my apartment," Her voice shook, but Emma kept talking, "And he pinned me against the wall," Tears fell freely, "And he tore off my shirt, and he was yelling at me, and hitting me...he broke my arm, and...he kept _touching_ me." Resisting the urge to bury her face in her hands and run into Will's arms, Emma spoke the last piece of her testimony. "He put me against the wall...and sprained my ankle...and kept slapping my face...and kicking my stomach...And he took...took off...my...bra, and...touched me...and put his mouth on me," She gave one heavy sob and whispered, "And put his hand down my underwear, but then...Will saved me."

With that, she met the eyes of the ADA, who nodded with a smile. Her watery gaze also fell on the jury for the briefest of moments before she pleaded non-verbally to be allowed to leave the stand.

"Miss Pillsbury, thank you for—"

A lawyer from Carl's side spoke, standing and buttoning his suit in an arrogant manor. "The defense has a few questions for Miss Pillsbury as well."

Her breath caught in her throat and her damp eyes grew wide while the ADA and defense attorney shared an exchange in front of the judge that Emma couldn't pay attention to as she sought out Will's face in the sea of people, most of which she didn't know and wasn't sure why they were in attendance. "The defense may ask relevant questions only," the judge commanded, clearly not falling for any tricks after the testimonies of individuals he'd heard throughout the morning.

"Miss Pillsbury, you claim to have had no romantic relationship with Mr. Will Schuester while you were seeing Dr. Howell. Yet, the moment that Carl was taken into custody, the two of you have engaged in a seemingly romantic relationship. Can you explain this?"

Emma opened and closed her mouth, now fueled with more anger than terror. "Will was and is my best friend. He stood by me in the hospital and he never left my side, I had to beg him to go get rest most of the time. He wanted to take care of me because he cared about me. I don't have any relatives in the area, and he offered to take care of me at home because I couldn't be alone. None of that had anything to do with the kind of relationship we had. But now, since taking care of me and sacrificing all of his time to take care of me, I saw that he truly loves me. He wants to see me well, and he respects me."

"I just find it ironic that two people who claim to have been only friends, can wind up fornicating not even—"

"Objection!" The ADA leapt to his feet to save Emma from having to explain herself.

The judge nodded in his direction, "I said relevant _questions_ only. We're not playing a game here. Miss Pillsbury, thank you for your time."

The white haired man called for a recess for the jury to deliberate and Will all but ran from his seat to catch Emma in a long, comforting embrace as she left her wooden seat. He tangled one hand through her hair and let the other wander across her back in a soothing motion while she cried heavily into his shirt.

"It's almost over, Em," Will whispered into her ear, rocking her gently, not caring that Carl's eyes were focused dangerously on them while he was led by the bailiff towards the back. "Just hang tight, sweetheart. We've got maybe another half hour, forty minutes...then we're going to go home and I'm going to hold you for the rest of the night."

After almost an hour, longer than anyone had expected, the jury returned. Will laced his fingers in Emma's, praying they'd reached a conclusion and wouldn't need to extend the trial for any longer than it had already gone.

After babbling for several minutes, a verdict was reached. "We have found Dr. Carl Howell to be guilty of all charges and—"

Neither Will nor Emma heard the remainder of the speech as he pulled her into his lap and held her as tightly as he could. The judged said something about sentencing and another date, but neither cared. As far as Emma was concerned, she was rid of Carl Howell forever.

* * *

Eh, I tried. I'm no law expert. Hope it was somewhat believable.

_Thanks for all who reviewed last time! Prompt winner was maggie1633 - check your PM's!_

Only one more chapter to go! Thanks for all the amazing feedback thus far, it has been much appreciated and very encouraging! I don't think I've ever written a multi-chapter story this quickly, and it's all because of the wonderful readers who've taken the time to tell me how much they love it! You have all been simply the best.


	12. Part XII

Emma sucked in a deep breath as she fastened the top button of a yellow cardigan, smoothing down her teal skirt before blinking sadly at her reflection in the mirror. Her mind was reeling for anyway that would make her appearance less pathetic with a cast bulging from her left arm, the significant amount of weight she'd lost from the surgery and new diet restrictions, along with the pale complexion that had yet to return to it's sunny, perky state.

With a slight smile, Emma delicately lifted the sweater clip Will had given her over the summer and attached it to her collar. As she prepared to slip on her shoes, her boyfriend emerged from the kitchen with his jacket on. "Ready to go, Em?"

"No," She cleared her throat and stepped into his arms, resting her forehead on his chest. Will pressed a firm kiss to the top of her neatly styled hair, rubbing her shoulders.

"You'll be fine, Emma. The kids don't know what happened. Hell, most of the faculty doesn't know what happened."

She breathed in his scent and bit her lip to keep tears at bay. She wasn't entirely sure why she wanted to cry so badly, she had been desperate to get back to work for weeks, but there were a million thoughts running through her traumatized mind that induced fear and panic.

"And if you can't make it all the way through the day, I'm sure Figgins will be understanding. We'll have lunch together in my office so you can avoid people you don't want to answer questions too, and you can hang out with us in the choir room at the end of the day instead of going to the staff meeting. Sound okay? Emma?"

"I'm scared," Emma breathed, "I don't...I don't want..."

"Don't want what, Em?" He continued to rub her back. "Talk to me."

"I don't want to be here alone," She mumbled into his tie, eyes scrunched shut to avoid his face and keep her makeup from running.

"What are you talking about?" He muttered into her ear, resting a hand at the nape of her neck. "Sweetheart, I don't know what you mean."

"I'm all better, right? I don't need...assistance to get around...or anything...you're going to leave...move back to your apartment, aren't you?"

"Em," Will sat at the edge of the bed and pulled her next to him, running a finger under her bottom lashes to catch a few droplets of tears. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll stay as long as you want me to. You're still recovering. Maybe not physically, but...I know how scary your situation was, still is. Being alone isn't going to do you any good. I will be here for you, always. I love living with you, coming home and curling up with you in bed...it's the most comforting feeling in the world. I know if I feel that way...you must, too. I wouldn't want to take that feeling away from you."

She choked and leaned up for a quick kiss before Will pulled away and rested a heavy hand in her lap. "I hate to cut this short, but we really do need to get going." Without prompting, Will knelt on the floor, taking the shoes Emma had laid out the night before and putting them on her feet, tugging the straps until they were snuggly secured around her ankle.

"Alright, Cinderella," He stood and took her hand, guiding her to follow him into the living room, where her red fall jacket was laid across the arm of the couch and bag rested on the coffee table, along with a lunch Will had packed for them to share the night previously.

The drive to school was filled with a playlist Will created to keep Emma's spirits up, including selections that had her singing along and dancing in her seat, making him laugh and almost run a red light until she squeaked and he braked.

"I was totally in control," He joked as they pulled into the faculty parking lot and slipped quietly into the building in hopes of not drawing too much attention to the fact that Emma was back, or that she and Will were walking to her office hand-in-hand.

She winced at the closed blinds across the windows, which she assumed had been shut since her leave of absence began, giving an erie sign that she was out of commission.

Ruffling through her purse for the office key, Emma didn't notice the crowed of teenagers that were behind her desk as she fumbled along the wall for the light.

"Will, could you—Oh!" She felt her face flush red as her coat when she took in the sight of New Directions and a banner that read, "Welcome Back," while they sang an obnoxious and off-key version of a Beatles song that had Emma leaning against Will in delight and beaming brightly while his arm curled around her hip.

"Thank you," She said quietly as they wrapped up, Finn stepping forward to pull her into a light hug that she accepted and returned.

"Welcome back, Miss P. Glad you're feeling better."

They excused themselves and Emma closed her door, keeping the blinds shut as she stretched her arms behind Will's neck and pulled his lips to hers before bidding him good-bye for the morning.

She wouldn't be having appointments over the course of her first week back as she attempted to catch up on what she'd missed, what the other guidance counselor had accomplished in her absence, and prioritizing who would need to be seen the most once she was ready to see students.

Shortly before lunch, the door swung open and Emma's face softened upon seeing Sue Sylvester enter her office. With a small smile, she gestured for the cheerleading coach to take a seat.

"Sue, I just...I can't even begin to thank you for all you've done for me in the past few weeks—"

"And you don't have to," The blonde woman cut her off, making Emma blink. "Emma, I just want to say a few things to you."

"Oh, okay..." The smaller of the two women straightened her back, eyes focused intently on the title-winning coach before her.

"You're lucky. Most women in your situation don't make it this far."

"What do you mean?" The redhead scrunched her nose up, confused.

"I mean, most women who've been in a place of domestic violence either let it consume them before seeking help, or can't assimilate back to normal life after. You're lucky."

Emma let her eyes wander to her spotless desk. "I wouldn't have gotten help if you and Will hadn't—"

"Stop," Sue commanded gently, "Don't go back there. Accept what happened and be thankful for it. Don't play _if_."

She nodded, a small smile creeping on her face. "I tell my students that all the time. Guess I should listen to my own advice."

Sue seemed to ignore the comment as she continued. "The fact that you're here right now is really a testimony to your strength. It's been a month, but you're ready to live your life again."

Emma sighed and rubbed a finger over the edge of her cast. "I'm not strong. Will is the only reason I'm here...because he took care of me and comforts me every five minutes—"

"But you let him. I don't think you realize how huge that is."

She shrugged. "I love him. It's easy to let him take care of me and—"

Sue smirked. "I think you're missing the point. What I'm saying in all of this, Emma," She leaned forward, covering Emma's hands with her own as she did at the trial, "Is that I'm proud of you. For not letting this situation ruin your life. For moving forward. And, for sticking up for yourself and not letting that bastard get away with it."

Emma swallowed a lump in her throat and nodded vigorously, "Thank you, Sue." The older woman stood to leave after having said what she wanted to, but Emma made an attempt to stop her. "Sue? How...how do you know? What, um...what happened to you?"

"Eliza," She curled a hand around the door handle, turning her face forward. "Some skeletons are better left in the closet."

With that, she left the small office, leaving Emma in a strange sense of peace that came with accepting her situation.

"Knock, knock," Will opened the door moments later, a wide smile on his face as Emma eyed the time, surprised to see that it had gone by so quickly. "What was Sue doing here?"

She stood and wrapped an arm around his middle. "Just...being Sue." She grinned widely, "How about lunch?"

They walked through the hallway, hands clasped together, not caring that there were students around to see or that Figgins was walking towards them with a curious gait.

"Miss Pillsbury," His smile was welcoming as he paused in front of them, "So glad to see you again. Schue, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to steal her away for just a moment."

Will glanced at Emma who nodded up at him, assuring him that she'd be okay with the principal. With a quick kiss to her cheek, the Spanish teacher left for his classroom.

"Emma, I just want to say a few things," Figgins started while they walked alone in the hallway. "First of all, I'm so happy you've recovered. There are only a few members of staff who actually know what happened, and we were all deeply concerned for you."

She spoke, "Thank you for giving Will so much time off to help me. He's honestly the reason I got better so quickly."

"I know that Will took very good care of you, and had a big part in helping you heal; not just physically. I want you to know that I'm very understanding of your situation. If you're having a day when you just don't know if you'll be able to stay here, please feel free to go. If you need Will to take a few minutes from his classes to talk to you, do so. I want you to know, you're not trapped here. Healing is a long process, and I imagine you've still got a way to go. I want to be as supportive as I can be during all this."

Feeling her eyes misting up, Emma nodded and thanked her boss quietly while he walked her to Will's room. When they arrived, she worked up the nerve to quickly give the Indian man a thankful hug, which he returned gently, cautious that she was likely still sensitive.

With a silent wave, Figgins left, making Will stare at his girlfriend in silence.

"I love you," She choked out when he crossed the tile to wrap his arms around her. "I love you so much." Emma nestled her face into his neck, letting a few happy yet stress-induced tears out.

"Oh, Em," He sighed her name, kissing the top of her head, "What's this about, hm? Was it Sue? Figgins?"

"No, no..." She breathed deeply, pulling away with a smile. "I'm just a little overwhelmed. There's more support than I thought there would be...But I'm alright. I just needed to see you, I think."

Guiding her to sit in his comfortable desk chair, Will pulled up a plastic one next to her and spread out their lunch, enjoying her company in his classroom for the first time in months.

* * *

"You stay here," Will directed Emma to her bedroom Friday afternoon when they returned home from McKinley after a stellar performance by New Directions that would become their opening number for Sectionals in the next month.

She pouted while sitting on the edge of the bed. "Why?"

Will pecked her lips and sighed into a smile. "It's a surprise. No peaking."

Emma crossed her arms and wrinkled her nose while Will fetched her laptop to keep her entertained. "You know I don't like surprises," She whined, entering her password and leaning back against the pillows with a playful glare in his direction as he laughed, closing the door behind her.

An hour and a half later, Will poked his head back in the room, a happy expression washing over him as his lips pressed into a smile while he took in the sight of Emma sprawled across the bed, hands tucked beneath her head while she napped, her computer abandoned near what had become _his_ pillow.

With a soft kiss to her temple, Will gently shook her shoulder, earning a moan while the guidance counselor stretched and blinked her eyes open to meet his with a warm grin. "Hey," She yawned, her hand moving to cup his cheek, which was rough with stubble, "What were you doing for so long?" Suddenly receiving a whiff of something that smelled particularly delicious, Emma also asked, "What smells so good?"

"Your dinner," He smirked, placing an arm behind her back to sit her up. "Come on, don't want it getting cold."

Opening her mouth, Emma found no words would come out as she took his hand and followed him to the kitchen, where the lights were low and two long, yellow candles sat on her table, which had been adorned with a tablecloth she didn't remember owning, and a meal prepared to her standards.

"Oh, Will," She whispered, covering her mouth as a few tears prickled at the edges of her eyes, "This is...perfect. Thank you."

Ever the gentleman, Will pulled out her chair before seating himself and pouring them both a non-alcoholic, sparkling wine, as Emma's new dietary restrictions prevented the consumption of the liquid. Motioning for her to raise her glass, Will did the same. "To the beginning of our new relationship. To you healing...to your win in court last week...to overcoming all the obstacles we may face...I love you, Emma."

She gently clinked her glass against his, whispering a tearful, "I love you, too, Will." After a quick sip, she stood to kiss him sweetly before digging into dinner.

Once they'd finished, the couple cleared the dishes together, ever playful as Emma tossed some soap bubbles at Will, giggling when he splashed her back, and laughing hysterically when she smacked his rear with a dishtowel. Surprised at her bluntness, Will gasped and reached his wet hands around her middle, pulling her light frame to him as she squealed and tried to squirm away while he tickled her sides.

After a small, epic battle, Emma threw her arms around Will's neck, kissing his lips while he pulled her up into a movie-inspired hug. "Maybe we should get you into some dry clothes, hm?"

Glancing at her peach-hued cardigan which had wet handprints all over it, Emma laughed into an attempted joking slap to his chest, which Will caught and kissed each one of her fingers. "Come on...there's still one more part of our evening," He tugged her towards her bedroom, where he'd somehow laid out a flowing, baby pink, short nightgown which she'd worn to bed a few nights previous and Will had fallen in love with.

"When did you get this washed and out without me knowing?" Emma raised a brow, breathing in the clean fabric.

He traced a line from her jaw to the edge of her ear which she leaned into, her eyes closing. Taking advantage of the moment, Will kissed each of her lids, then moved to the bathroom to change himself and respect the privacy of his girlfriend.

"All done," She said with a little knock on the wooden frame, where Will exited in a pair of baggy black sweatpants and a tight, white v-neck which had his muscles rippling beneath. "So now what's the plan?" She questioned, one hand on her hip as his eyes trailed her adorable frame.

Licking his lips, Will answered, "I'm going to serenade you and we'll fall asleep watching a movie."

"Aw," Emma cooed and reached for the seemingly hundredth warm embrace of the day before Will directed them to the living room. "What are we watching? And hey, how do you know I'm going to fall asleep?"

He gave a little chuckle as he guided her to sit on the sofa, picking up his guitar and resting a hand on it while sitting on the edge of the coffee table. "When was the last time you managed to stay awake while we watched a movie?" Will teased with a raised eyebrow.

Emma thought and shrugged, "Probably that time we watched _Armageddon_ for the third night in a row."

"Right," He strummed softly, "Okay, I know you think they're overplayed and all, but I want to do a few Nickelback songs for you, if that's alright? I think they have a lot of lyrics that really speak for us."

Emma flashed a smile, "I'd love to hear it, Will."

Their eyes met and Will continued the opening chords to_ Gotta Be Somebody,_ which Emma sang along to the chorus with, swaying in her seat. As the first song ended, Will's voice flowed into the second song, which had Emma sniffling again while he struggled to keep his own cool through the second verse of_ Far Away_. By the time he hit the third and final song, the redhead's tears were flowing freely and when he sang for the last time, "_You're never gonna be alone, from this moment on...If you ever feel like letting go, I won't let you fall...When all hope is gone, I know that you can carry on. You're never gonna be alone, I'll hold you till the hurt is gone,"_ Emma replaced his guitar with her body while he hummed the song to a close.

"I love you, so much," She cried into his neck and he tangled his hand in her hair, whispering promises that he felt the same way.

"And Emma, I mean it...you're never going to be alone. Not for as long as I love you. I'm _always_ going to be here."

With a few kisses and strokes, Will popped in a movie and wedged himself behind Emma on the couch, pulling a blanket over them both, grinning as the woman he loved fell asleep before the film was five minutes into the opening credits.

* * *

Two days after their evening together, Emma received a call from her lawyer saying Carl had been given a sentence for up to fifteen years in prison, and that she would have an order of protection for him to remain away from her once he was released.

Two weeks after returning to work, Emma had her cast removed, starting physical therapy three days a week to regain strength and movement in her arm.

Two months later, she began talk therapy for post-traumatic stress issues, which were beginning to take a toll on her daily life at school, home, and her relationship with Will, and resulted not only from her recent trauma with Carl, but mental roadblocks that still lingered from an event twenty-two years previous. Even within the first few sessions, dramatic progress was made, and Emma wondered why she hadn't seen someone sooner in her life.

Two seasons post-Carl, she was recommended to a behavioral therapist to learn more manageable strategies to cope with OCD and continue her all-around improvement of her life and mental well-being.

Two hours into summer vacation, Emma jumped into Will's arms, with Carl and germs being the furthest thoughts from her mind while a ring glistened on her fourth finger of her left hand and she smiled endlessly while ideas flooded her mind of what their first dance would be.

Two nights before August, Will made a toast that would make her forget about all the events of the past summer, and focus solely on the man before her, and the promises they'd exchanged earlier in the day. The look he gave her as he finished brought her to tears and as they kissed warmly, an entire reception hall burst into thunderous applause.

Two years after the ordeal had taken place, Emma rocked a fussing infant to sleep, her mind reeling with the stress of being a first-time parent, but her heart flooding with the joy of the experience as well. When Will stepped into the nursery to assist her, Emma sought the comfort that his presence always brought, especially when the baby spewed on her shoulder.

Two minutes before the anniversary of her first child's exact moment of birth seven years later, Emma's phone rang with the number of the local police, informing her that Carl Howell had been released from prison early for good behavior, but that he was not supposed to be within two miles of her living residence at all times.

Two seconds after she ended the call, Emma found herself melting down on the floor of the kitchen while her oldest ran down the hall to find her husband, who scooped her into his arms and comforted her for the remainder of the evening, leaving a birthday cake forgotten and a freshly-turned seven-year-old pouting.

Two afternoons after recovering from a mild relapse, the mother confronted her child and told the G-rated version of what had happened nine years previous, which was met with a long hug, a tearful apology of dismissing her second grader's highlight of the year, a promise from her baby that she was forgiven, and the statement that Emma was the greatest mom a kid could have.

Two weekends after Carl's release, Emma physically ran into his grocery cart with hers as she turned down an aisle while neither of them were paying attention. Before she had the opportunity to seize into a panic attack, Will steered her away, leaving their food items forgotten, but not before sending a shooting glare in her former abuser's direction. After a pep talk in the pasta isle and a deep, reassuring hug, they continued through the store, and Emma was surprisingly nightmare-free that night.

* * *

When Will pulled his wife into his arms the night before the tenth year post-Carl, she shook a little, startling him. "Sweetheart?"

"I'm fine," She mumbled, tugging at the collar of his shirt. "I just can't believe...ten years..."

"You're doing so well, Em," He complimented with a kiss to her temple. "I admire every ounce of your strength. I love you endlessly."

She smiled into his lips and moaned when his hips met hers unexpectedly. "Mm, not tonight, Will...too many things that are not helping me get in the mood."

Sighing, as Carl occasionally still got in the way of their intimacy, just as he said he would, Will scratched her back soothingly while Emma reminded him, "You know that I love you, too...I just...need my thoughts to settle down. I'm not reliving it, just...thinking about it."

Will pressed his forehead to hers. "Anything I can do to change the direction of your thoughts?"

"You know there's always one thing that usually distracts me," She responded, kissing his neck while a soft melody reverberated from his vocal chords, clearly having the desired effect she'd wanted while her lips moved down his chest and back up, slowly as he sang a current pop song that she was fond of.

"Works every time," Emma whispered when he ended and she tugged his shirt off and worked at the drawstring of his pants, now eager to spend time with Will and keep her mind off Carl. "I still don't know how you do it, but you always manage to keep me sane."

Will's hands moved up her nightgown as he traced a pattern above her bellybutton. He wasn't entirely sure how he still possessed the ability to be the only one who could comfort and love her in every way she needed him to.

But neither of them complained as their skin met in a passionate heat that ten years previous, Emma would have never imagined she'd be experiencing. Through Will's unconditional love for her, his patience and understanding, that he'd always had — even if it took a few rough patches to see it — she found herself tangled up in the unexplainable ties of their crazy, beautiful relationship.

_Maybe that's what happens when a tornado meets a volcano._

Whatever it was, Emma didn't care. As Will whispered "I love you," over and over while he rocked against her, Emma knew that it didn't matter. Their feelings were mutual and never wavering. Emma loved Will, and Will loved Emma. And dentist or no, their relationship was never truly over.

_Fin._

* * *

I'm so lame. But _I_ like the ending.

**There is a companion piece to this called "What it Feels Like," which is an M-rated version of a sort-of epilogue.** It was also posted tonight, be sure to read it if you're up for some smut.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, and a thousand times, thank you all so much for reading this. I've never had so much response with a story before and this has been wonderful.

I have appreciated every reader, review and PM telling me over and over how much you love this story. I love you all, thank you so much for sticking with me as I finished this. Your feedback has been truly amazing! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!


End file.
